J LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. $ 

|ro"9 w |°« -3 $ 

! -^5r. t .ti-l I 



i UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, f 



THE 



CHILD'S HISTORY 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



BY MES. M. A. HALLOCK, 

AUTHOR OF "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD," "LIFE OF PAUL," ETC. 




W OF 



C0 % 



% m COPYRIGHT ^> 

~ 0J 



rw^AvX^ To 




^^^^^ 



PUBLISHED BY THE 
AMEBIC AN TRACT SOCIETY, 

, lSOvNASSAU-S'iJEEET.^BW YOKK./ |S 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18G9, by the American 
Tract Society, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
for the Southern District of New York. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Jerusalem page 5 

II. Josephus - 2-i 

JEL Felix— Floras--- 37 

IV. Agrippa — Revolution — • 52 

V. Jerusalem Attacked — : - 67 

VI. Vespasian — Titus — The Siege of Jotapata 91 

VII. Vespasian Emperor — War- 113 

VIII. The Siege of Jerusalem — Hunger 128 

IX. Burning of the Temple — Famine — 149 

X. The Fall of Jerusalem— Death- 175 



I. 



jJerusalem. 

" father!" exclaimed Jennie as she ran tow- 
ards the door to meet him, "you don't know how 
lonesome it has been this long, rainy day without 



6 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



you. Charley and I have played every thing we 
could thinK of, and still it keeps on raining and rain- 
ing, as if it would never stop." 

Mr. Sherman had just come from his place of 
business, where he had been very active all the 
long day. Yet he was never too tired to enter into 
the feelings of his children ; so he met them with 
kind words, and as soon as he had hung up his wet 
overcoat, and put on the slippers which Jennie had 
placed by the fire, he took his seat with an arm 
around each child. 

For some time their tongues ran merrily, telling 
of all the ways they had taken to amuse themselves, 
and how they tumbled over chairs and ran against 
tables in playing blind-man's-buff. 

Mr. Sherman was amused at their descriptions, 
and after a hearty laugh, said, " So you have played 
all this afternoon, have you ? I wonder if you can- 
not mingle something useful with your recreations, 
and make them more satisfactory ? How old are 
you, Charlie ?" 



JERUSALEM. 



7 



"I was fourteen last August, father/' 
4 'And you, Jennie? 77 

" I, father? Why, I am going on thirteen," she 
replied, straightening up to look as old as possible. 

Charles laughed as he exclaimed, "Father, just 
hear her! She was twelve last month; and she is 
not going on thirteen any faster than I am going on 
fifteen. 77 

"Yes, yes, my children, you are both getting 
on in life rapidly, and will soon be as old as you 
will care to be. You ought to be learning as fast 
as you are growing. Suppose you take the history 
of some city or country, and study it, and in the 
evening tell me what you have learned. Would 
Von like that ? 77 

"Oh yes, 77 they both said in a breath. "But 
what shall it be ? 77 

"Well, let me see, 77 said Mr. Sherman thought- 
fully. " How T w T ouid you like the Fall of Jeru- 
salem ? 77 

"0 father, I should like that very much, 77 said 



8 



THE FALL OF JEBUSALEM. 



Charles. " I like to read of those old cities. There 
was old Troj r , which fell through the trick of the 
wooden horse. I wonder if the fall of Jerusalem 
would be as interesting ? 77 

11 As interesting ! Certainly, my child, far more 
so. Troy was no more than any other city, while 
Jerusalem is identified with the church of God in all 
ages. David said of it, ' Glorious things are spoken 
of thee, city of God. 7 ' The Lord loveth the gates 
of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 777 

" Then it seems that God had a particular regard 
for that city, 77 said Jennie. 

"Yes, my child. He chose Jerusalem that his 
name might be there, and commanded that a very 
splendid temple should be built, in which he prom- 
ised to appear and talk with his people, and be their 
God and king. The whole city, with the thousands 
of worshippers in its golden temple, w T as a type of 
that New Jerusalem which cometh down out of 
heaven from God. 77 

"Did the Jews understand this? 77 asked Jennie. 



JERUSALEM. 



9 



"They must have understood something of this: 
But when they read of the Messiah, who they knew 
would ' come suddenly to his temple 7 — that he should 
be called 'Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, 
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, 7 they 
understood that he would be some great king, who 
should drive away the Romans, and deliver them 
from all their enemies. They expected Christ to 
appear in great pomp, and make his throne in Jeru- 
salem. When they read in Isaiah, ' Awake, awake! 
put on thy strength, Zion, put on thy beautiful 
garments, Jerusalem, the holy city ; for hence- 
forth there shall no more come into thee the un cir- 
cumcised and the unclean/ they thought it referred 
to the time when their city should sit as a queen 
among the nations. 77 

"They understood, 77 said Charles, 4 4 that the 
shedding of the blood of lambs in sacrifice pointed 
to Christ, and that their own Scriptures spoke of 
him as ' a man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
grief ; 7 but they acted as if they forgot it all. 77 



10 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



"Father, 77 said Jennie, "if the Jews had not 
rejected Christ, would their temple have been de- 
stroyed ? 77 

"I do not see why it should have been,' 7 replied 
Mr. Sherman; "but the Jews were so wicked, and 
held so tightly to their forms and ceremonies, in- 
stead of obeying God, that he was obliged to destroy 
not only the city, but them also, in order to bring 
in the Gospel of Christ, and show to the world that 
the Jewish ceremonies were done away. 77 

"I do not wonder," said Charles, "that they 
held on to their old modes of worship ; for they had 
been required by God himself to observe strictly 
all those forms ; and they did not believe that Jesus 
of Nazareth, the son of a carpenter, and brought up 
in poverty, was the Messiah they were looking for ; 
and I suppose they thought that God required them 
to go right on as they had done with the sacrifices 
that typified a coming Saviour. 77 

"My son, 77 said Mr. Sherman earnestly, "their 
sin lay in not believing. Their Scriptures were very 



JERUSALEM. 



11 



plain ; and in perfect harmony with them were 
Christ's life and miracles, which were sufficient 
proofs of his divinity; so they were left 'without 
excuse. 7 We shall see as we go on in this history 
what terrible distresses this unbelief brought upon 
them, and it ought to be a warning to us all. If we 
reject Christ, we too shall be excluded from that 
Jerusalem above, ' which is the mother of us all ;' 
of which John said, ' I saw a new heaven and a new 
earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth had 
passed away, and there was no more sea. And 
I John saw the holy city Jerusalem coming down 
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride for her 
husband.' ' And he carried me away in the spirit 
to a great and high mountain, and showed me that 
great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of 
heaven from God, having the glory of God. And 
her light was like a stone most precious, even like 
a jasper stone, clear as crystal ; and had a wall 
great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the 
gates twelve angels.' 'And the wall was built of 



12 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



precious stones, and the twelve gates were twelve 
pearls, and the streets of the city were pure gold, 
transparent as glass. And I saw no temple therein, 
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the 
temple of it. 7 Nothing that was sinful was to enter 
into it, only those whose names were written in the 
Lamb's book of life. 77 

"What a glorious description, father, 77 said 
Charles. " But I never thought before of Jerusa- 
lem as meaning any thing more than the city in the 
land of Judea. I now understand that the church 
of God in all ages, not only the old Jewish church, 
but the present Christian church, and the church in 
heaven, are all spoken of as Jerusalem or Zion. 
And the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, you 
say, implied the doing away of the Jewish church, 
or, as you call it, the old dispensation. 7 ' 

" Yes, Charles ; and that was breaking the shell, 
that the substance might be seen. The Jews, not 
believing in Christ, would have gone on till this 
time, if they could, with their temple worship. And 



J EE U SAL EM. 



13 



I think you will learn, as we look farther, that the 
destruction of Jerusalem was an absolute necessity, 
in order to clear the way for the glorious recogni- 
tion of Christ, who had now come, and in whom 
centred all those symbols which were ever after 
useless. The Old Testament was full of predictions 
and types of Christ's coming, and dying, and reign- 
ing. All prophecy pointed to him. He wtls the 
world's great expectation." 

"Then," said Charles, "if the Jews had been 
allowed to go on with their sacrifices, they would 
have been pointing the wrong way to Christ." 

"Yes, my son, in the fulness of time Christ 
came; after which, Christians looked back to him 
as having already died." 

" How is it with the Jews of the present time ?" 
asked Jennie. " Do they still look for a Messiah ?" 

" Certainly, they have this article in their creed : 
' I believe with a perfect faith in the advent of the 
Messiah ; and though he should tarry, yet I will 
patiently wait for him every day till he come. 7 " 



14 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



"Strange," said Jennie, "very strange that they 
cannot see. Bnt I suppose it would n't be very 
pleasant for them to feel that they had killed their 
own Messiah. But where, father, do the Jews ex- 
pect him to live? They have no country now of 
their own." 

"They expect to be gathered back into their 
own land again ; and there are some passages in 
the Bible that seem to promise it," said Mr. Sher- 
man. 

"Father," said Charles, "the Bible does not 
give us an account of the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem." 

"No, Charles; but we have a very particular 
account of it in the writings of Josephus who was a 
Jew, and a priest • and he is considered a reliable 
historian. We may naturally conclude that he 
would not wish to write any thing untrue against 
his own people. His works are the very ones for 
you to consult in this matter." 

" I think," said Charles, " there is great interest 



JEKUSALEM. 



15 



in those places where Christ walked, and taught, 
and suffered. 77 

" Father/ 7 said Jennie. "I wish you would tell 
us when Jerusalem was founded, who lived there 
before the Jews came, and all you know about it." 

"Yes, daughter, I think it would be "well to look 
back over the ground a little/ 7 replied Mr. Sher- 
man. "The first mention we find made of the 
place, was about two thousand years before Christ, 
when Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who was a 
type of the Saviour, came out and blessed Abra- 
ham. 

"About forty years afterwards, Abraham was 
commanded to take his son Isaac, and go to the 
land of Moriah, and there offer him a sacrifice to 
God. In the book of Chronicles you will see that 
Mount Moriah was where Solomon 7 s temple was 
afterwards built, 2 Chron. 3:1; and Abraham 7 s offer- 
ing was to typify that greater Sacrifice which was 
to be offered in after ages at Jerusalem. 

"The Ammonites probably founded the city, 



1G 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



but there was then no great, interest attached, to the 
place, which was afterwards to be called, ' the per- 
fection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth. ? It 
was a secluded place on a rocky ridge, with deep 
valleys separating it from other hills around it, 
especially on the east and south. Thus it was very 
strongly fortified by nature, and was also probably 
a walled city even at this early period. About 
four hundred and twenty or thirty years after this, 
we find it the royal city of the Jebusites, and called 
Jebus. During most of these years the Jews had 
been in bondage in Egypt ; but now they had come 
back and were commanded to take the whole coun- 
try by the sword. They took Jericho, and most of 
the other places, and attacked Jebus. They tried 
on one side, then on another, but it was like run- 
ning their heads against solid rocks ; the strong 
citadel stood as quietly as if no attack had been 
made. In Joshua 15 :G3, we read, 'As for the Jeb- 
usites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of 
Judah could not drive them out. 5 



JERUSALEM. 



17 



" Adonizedek, the king of Jebus, made Joshua 
a great deal of trouble. He called together at one 
time several neighboring kings, and attacked the 
children of Israel ; but in the battle he was killed. 
Still Joshua could not get into the strongest part of 
the city, and the Jebusites held it, and lived there 
in the land of Judea about four hundred years 
longer. " 

4 * That is very strange, ?? said Charles. "Why 
didn't Joshua put all his forces together, and take 
it any way f 7 

"You don't know, my son, what a strong place 
it was. It was almost or quite equal to Gibral- 
tar; and the Jebusites felt very secure, I assure 
you. 

" 1 At length David became king of Israel. He 
was a great warrior, never losing a battle. Jeru- 
salem, he said, must be taken, and the Jebusites 
dispossessed. They defied him, and said he could 
not take their city ; but he went about it with de- 
termination, and God helped him. He knew the 

Jerusalem. 2 



18 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



danger of those who should attack it : and calling 
his brave men together, he told them if any one 
would volunteer to go up first, and smite the Jebu- 
sites, he should be chief and captain in his army. 
Joab his nephew led the attack, and succeeded. So 
David took the stronghold, and called it 'The City 
of David. 7 

"David immediately went to work to beautify 
and enlarge the place : he built strong walls, and 
a splendid palace for himself. Then he brought in 
the ark of the Lord with great rejoicings, dancing 
before it with all his might, and presented before it 
peace-offerings. These were the first acts towards 
constituting Jerusalem the Holy City." 

"Didn't he want to build a temple, father,*' 
asked Jennie, "in which to place the ark?" 

" Yes: but he was forbidden, because he was 
such a man of war ; but he collected vast stores of 
gold and silver, besides very great quantities of 
brass, iron, and timber, all of which, and the design, 
or plan of the house, he left with Solomon. 



JERUSALEM. 



19 



" In the fourth year of his reign Solomon com- 
menced the house. As the hill on which it was to 
stand was not large enough, Solomon had a wall 
built up from the valley, and then filled in between 
this wall and the hill, thus enlarging it. Josephus 
says that persons could scarcely look from this ele- 
vation to the ground below without becoming dizzy. 
At the entrance of one of the courts of the temple, 
on this high elevation, Solomon built a beautiful 
gate of bright Corinthian brass, the most precious 
metal then known, which was seventy-five feet high. 
When that beautiful gate and the temple itself, all 
of white marble edged with gold, stood in the bright 
sunshine, they were so dazzling that a person could 
scarcely look upon them. 

" Solomon was seven years in building the tem- 
ple, though he employed one hundred and eighty- 
three thousand and six hundred men upon it. When 
done, it was the most wonderful structure ever made. 
After many years of great prosperity, Solomon 
allowed idol worship in the nation, and built idol 



20 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



temples, for which sin God took away from his son 
Behoboam a large part of his kingdom; and as 
kings and people went on sinning, G-od, after long 
forbearance, gave np the Jews into the hands of 
the Babylonians, who destroyed the temple, and 
carried the nation into captivity." 

"0 father, what a pity! How long had the 
temple stood ?" asked Jennie. 

V A little more than fonr hundred years; and 
its destruction was five hundred and eighty-eight 
years before Christ." 

11 How long did it lie in ruins ?" asked Charles. 

"Fifty-two years. Zerubbabel and upwards of 
forty-two thousand Jews, besides their servants, 
were sent back by Cyrus, the king of Persia, to 
their own land, to build again the temple of God. 
He also restored to them all the vessels of gold and 
silver, five thousand and four hundred pieces, Ezra 
1:11, which had been taken away from Jerusalem. 
Isaiah, chapter 45, foretold this one hundred and 
twenty years before the temple was destroyed ; and 



JERUSALEM. 



21 



it is probable that Cyrus had read the prediction. 
Josephus says that 'God stirred up the mind of 
Cyrus, and made him write this throughout all Asia : 
Thus saith the king: since God Almighty hath ap- 
pointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I 
believe he is the God whom the nations of the Isra- 
elites worship ; for indeed he foretold my name by 
the prophets, and that I should build him a house 
at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea. 7 

"It took a long time to rebuild the temple ; and 
when it was done it had no ark, no mercy-seat, no 
sacred fire, and God did not appear in this as he 
had in the first." 

" Please tell us something about the ark, 77 said 
Jennie. 

"It was like a box, my daughter, more than a 
yard long, but not quite as broad or high, and was 
covered with pure gold. The mercy-seat, or cover 
of the ark, was solid gold. Over it, standing on 
each side, were two golden figures called cherubim ; 
and in it was a golden pot of manna, Aaron's rod 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



that budded and "blossomed and bore fruit, and 
those tables of stone upon which God wrote with 
his finger the ten commandments. 

"When Zerubbabel's temple had stood about 
five hundred years, it became very much dilapi- 
dated ; and Herod the Great, who then had charge 
of Juclea, took in hand the repairing and rebuilding 
of it. He hoped to gain the favor of the Jews, and 
also to get himself a great name." 

''How long before Christ was the temple com- 
menced asked Jennie. 

" Seventeen years, daughter; and it was forty- 
six years in rebuilding." 

"Father, was that the Herod that tried to kill 
Christ in Bethlehem? 77 asked Jennie. 

"Yes, the very one. It would seem that he 
was sent to cleanse and rebuild the temple for the 
reception of the Saviour; but Gocl did not allow 
him to lay his hand upon his Son for harm. Herod 
soon after died, abhorred by the people, and an 
angel was sent, you remember, to Egypt to an- 



JEEUSALEM. 



23 



nounce his death to Joseph and Mary, that they 
might return home." 

After this talk, Mr. Sherman had a quiet hour 
in which to read his papers ; but the rain pattered 
so steadily upon the window panes, and the long 
branches of the old elm swung so monotonously 
against the roof, that he dropped to sleep and knew 
nothing more till his children came in to call him to 
tea. 

At the table Mr. Sherman said, " Charles, I 
would like to have you find out, and tell me in our 
next talk, something about our historian Josephus, 
that we may see what advantages he had for know- 
ing the facts which he relates. 77 



24 



THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 




IT. 

jIoSEPHUS. 

When they met again in the parlor to talk 
together, the children's faces showed that they had 
ideas which they wished to communicate. 

"Well, Charlie, what have you learned? Can 



JOSEPHUS. 



25 



you tell me when, and where, Josephus was born?' 7 
asked Mr. Sherman, as he took his seat by the 
fire. 

" Oh, yes, father; I have found out that he was 
born in Jerusalem, only about seven years after 
Christ was crucified. His father, Matthias, was a 
high-priest." 

"What about his mother, Jennie? 7 ' asked Mr. 
Sherman. 

" I read that she belonged to a royal family, the 
Asmonaeans; and I suppose she was as proud and 
haughty as her husband. They were among the first 
families of the nation, and probably had a splendid 
house, and took a great deal of pains with their lit- 
tle boy. 77 

"Very likely; but what would they teach him, 
as he grew up, about Christ? 77 asked Mr. Sherman. 

"I can tell, father, 77 said Charles. " If Matthias 
did help in condemning Christ, he would tell Jose- 
phus that Jesus was an impostor, and that the Sav- 
iour was still to come ; and that they must still offer 



26 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



bulls, goats, sheep, and doves for their sins. I sup- 
pose that, as Josephus was to be trained up for a 
priest, his father took him every clay to the temple 
where Christ had so lately been ; and there, in the 
court, as they called it, before the temple, he saw 
innocent lambs killed, and their blood sprinkled on 
the people. 77 

" What did they mean by sprinkling the blood 
upon the people?" asked Jennie. 

" It meant, my child, that God could not forgive 
sin without blood being shed to atone for it. The 
lamb meant or represented Christ, who is called ' the 
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.' 
When we believe on him, his blood, or death, can- 
cels all our sins, and we are forgiven for his sake. 77 

"So I suppose,' 7 said Charles, 11 that Matthias 
taught Josephus to observe all the old ceremonial 
laws that are found in the Old Testament, and to 
despise those who believed in Christ. I think he 
must have heard a great deal about Christ ; for Ste- 
phen preached in Jerusalem, and was stoned to 



JOSEPHUS. 



27 



death, after Josephus was old enough to understand 
about these things.' 7 

"Very likely/ 7 replied Mr. Sherman; "but he 
may not have been much interested in such mat- 
ters. ;; 

"I know what Josephus was interested in/ 7 said 
Jennie ; " it was his studies ; and he became so learned 
that by the time he was fourteen years old his fame 
went all over Jerusalem. And, father, sometimes 
those old learned Jewish doctors of the law came to 
him to ask his opinion about matters which they did 
not understand. , I think he loved to study better 
than Charlie does. 77 

"Or any girl I ever heard of/ 7 replied Charles, 
a little touched. 

"Girls and boys may both accomplish a great 
deal by making a little effort/ 7 replied Mr. Sher- 
man ; "and I should be glad to have you both do 
your best in your studies. Josephus had a good 
work to do in the world, and his education prepared 
him for it. God may have something for my chil- 



28 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



dren to do which will require a cultivated intellect. 
So fit yourselves to fill any station in life. 77 

" Father/ 7 asked Jennie, " what school did Jose- 
phus attend? or where was he educated? 77 

"I really do not know T , daughter; but I have 
read of one in Jerusalem where Paul was educated, 
the school of Gamaliel, who was President of the 
Sanhedrim — the Jewish Senate — thirty-two years. 
Very likely it was there that Josephus was educa- 
ted. 77 

" Father, 77 said Charles, "when Josephus was 
about sixteen he noticed that all men were not Phar- 
isees, as his father was ; and being a very inquisitive 
boy, he began to question who was right. There 
was a sect called Sadducees, who did not believe 
that men will live again after death, and said there 
were neither angels nor spirits. Josephus studied 
on that some time, but concluded his father 7 s belief 
was better. 

"He afterwards heard of a sect called the Essenes. 
They were a very peculiar people, living in caves 



JOSEPHUS. 



29 



and by-places, denying themselves nearly all the 
comforts of life, not even allowing themselves the 
society of their mothers and sisters, except on the 
Sabbath, when they met and ate their coarse hard 
fare together. Josephus went and lived with them 
for some time, but concluded their religion was not 
the right one.' 7 




"And I read, 77 said Jennie, "of a man by the 
name of Bannus, who lived in the desert, and was 



30 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



dressed with the bark of trees, and ate what he 
could find in the woods. He was- a very religious 
man, and preached to all who would hear him. Jo- 
sephus went to see him, and for a long time remained 
there under his instruction. 77 

"How long was Josephus engaged in testing 
these different sects ?" 

" About four years/ 7 replied Charles ; " and then 
he went home, and concluded to be a Pharisee like 
his father. 7 * 

"Did you find that Josephus wrote any thing 
about Christ? 77 asked Mr. Sherman. 

"Yes, father, 77 said Charles; "yet it is not as 
much as I should suppose he would have said. I 
will read it to you : ' Now there was about this time 
Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, 
for he was a doer of wonderful works — a teacher of 
such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He 
drew over to him both many of the Jews and many 
of the Gentiles. He was (the) Christ ; and when 
Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among 



JOSEPHUS. 



31 



us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved 
him at the first did not forsake him ; for he appeared 
alive to them again the third day, as the divine 
prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other 
wonderful things concerning him ; and the tribe of 
Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at 
this day. 7 Isn't that wonderful, father? If Jose- 
ph us should come upon the earth now, he would 
think the ' tribe 7 of Christians had greatly increased ; 
and he would be astonished, too, a.t all that has been 
done and is now doing in the cause of Christ. 77 

"Indeed he would, 7 ' replied Mr. Sherman. "But 
Josephus 7 testimony concerning the Saviour is w T orth 
a great deal ; for you must remember he lived at a 
time when Christ 7 s acts and words were fresh in the 
minds of the people, and had he written what was 
false, it would have been detected at once. Besides, 
he was an active priest, and had every opportunity 
of hearing a great deal said about Christ by the very 
persons who had seen him in Jerusalem, had heard 
him talk, and had perhaps seen him die. He heard 



32 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



the opinions of friends and enemies ; and with all 
these opportunities to learn the truth, he makes up 
his mind that Jesus was the Christ, and that he rose 
from the dead on the third day, as our own Bible 
teaches us. 77 

''Father, if Joseph us believed that, why did he 
go on at the temple in the old way, offering sacrifi- 
ces for sin, as if the Saviour had not come ?" 

" I suspect, Charles, that Josephus wrote his his- 
tory after the destruction of Jerusalem. You will 
find, as you pursue the subject, that he was carried 
off to Rome ; and it is probable that most of his his- 
tory was written there. ?? 

"Josephus visited Rome, 77 said Charles, "when 
he was about twenty-six years old, to defend some 
of his friends. He and other priests at the temple 
often had serious difficulties ; at one time it resulted 
in quite a hard battle. At length this reached the 
ears of Felix the governor, who tried and condemned 
some of them, and sent them to Rome to be judged 
by Caesar. They happened to be those in whom 



JOSEPHUS. 



33 



Josephus felt a particular interest; and he, in his 
zeal, took a ship and went on after them. It was a 
large ship, and had on board no less than six hun- 
dred persons as it started off over 'the great sea, 7 
as the Mediterranean was then called. I suppose 
the people on board with Josephus were so glad to 
be on their way to their homes, or to visit friends, or 
to prosecute their business, that they borrowed no 
trouble about the winds and the waves, but sailed 
on joyfully many days. 77 

"Did those ships sail under the protection of 
heathen gods ? 77 asked Mr. Sherman. 

"I think some of them did, 7 ' said Charles. "You 
know the ship Paul sailed in had the sign of Castor 
and Pollux. Were they heathen gods, father? 77 

"Yes ; they were supposed to be the twin sons 
of Jupiter, and to ^preside over the destiny of sail- 
ors, 77 replied Mr. Sherman. 

"Well, father, soon after Josephus 7 vessel en- 
tered the Adriatic waters, they found the winds 
rising and the waves swelling, and the vessel began 

Jerusalem. 3 



34 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

pitching and rolltng. Some thought that the winds 
would soon subside ; but they waited and watched 
in vain ; for instead of the sea becoming calmer, it 
only grew worse. All night they were in great 




fear ; and when morning came there was no sun- 
nothing but clouds, rain, and wind. The distress 
on board increased, and the hope of being saved was 



JOSEPHUS. 



35 



nearly gone. I suppose Josephus did what he could 
to comfort the rest, but he was in great fear himself ; 
and when he saw the timbers of the ship straining, 
and threatening to part and let them down into the 
boiling waves, he could say nothing encouraging to 
the distressed creatures who were imploring help. 
Another day was drawing to a close, and night was 
setting in again with fearful sounds, and with a dark- 
ness that could almost be felt. I think, father, that 
then friends clasped each other in their arms and 
clung together tightly, that they might die together. 
At length there came, oh, such a heart-rending sound ! 
•the timbers parted, the vessel filled, and amid the 
screams of those six hundred horrified souls it went 
down into the sea. The waves were covered with 
human beings struggling for life. Some clung to 
each other, others to boards or whatever floated 
from the ship. But the struggle with most was 
short, and they sank here and there and all around. 
Josephus, with about eighty strong men, kept swim- 
ming and catching hold of whatever they could reach 



36 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

all flight. But about daylight, when they were 
nearly exhausted, a ship hove in sight. How glad 
they were to see it, and yet so afraid it would not 
come that way ; but it did come, and all these poor 
exhausted men were picked up and cared for. A 
few days' sailing after this brought them to Puteoli, 
in Italy, about eight miles from Naples, and not a 
great way from Rome. 

"While Josephus was there, 77 said Charles, "he 
was introduced to a play-actor, who was acquainted 
with* Poppea, Caesar's wife ; and the play-actor 
brought Josephus to Poppea, who treated him kind- 
ly, released the priests, and made him a great many 
presents, such as queens alone have to give ; and 
he and the priests returned to Jerusalem. 7 ' 



FELIX— FLOKUS. 



37 




III. 



jpELIX j^LORUS. 

" Father, " said Charles, "I would like to know m 
how long the Romans had had possession of Judea. 
The country seems to have had a great deal of trou- 
ble under the Roman rulers.' 7 



38 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

" Pompey took it sixty-three years before Christ," 
replied Mr. Sherman, ''and the poor Jews never 
regained their liberty. Caesar, who lived in Eome, 
sent out such men as Herod, Pilate, and Agrippa to 
rule Judea, but most of these rulers were hard- 
hearted and cruel men." 

"Here is something about Felix," said Charles. 
"He made his home in the magnificent city of Caesa- 
rea, which was sixty miles northwest of Jerusalem, 
on the Mediterranean sea. There he lived in great 
pomp, and all the Jews who were accused of any 
thing wrong, whether they were guilty or not, were 
taken to him to be judged." 

% " Christ," said Mr. Sherman, "was crucified about 
twenty-three years before Felix was appointed gov- 
ernor. After he arrived in Judea he must have 
learned a great deal about the Christian religion."' 

"Felix was a very wicked man," said Charles, 
"and would do almost any thing for money." 

"Yes," said Mr. Sherman, "he had great faults. 
He persuaded Drusilla, the daughter of Herod, to 



FELIX. 



39 



leave her husband and marry him ; and they were 
living together when Paul was carried from Jerusa- 
lem to him one night. Felix put Paul in prison and 
kept him there two years. But one day Felix and 
Brasilia thought they would hear what Paul had to 
say in favor of the new religion which he advocated ; 
so the prisoner with the heavy chain upon his arm, 
was brought in and told that he might speak. Paul 
was bold and spoke the truth, and pressed it home 
so strongly that Felix trembled; and I think the 
guilty Jewess Drusilla wished she had not put her- 
self in the' prisoner's presence. Felix sent him back 
to prison, hoping money would be given for his 
release." 

"Father," said Jennie, "I think Josephus must 
have seen Paul ; for it is probable that he was still 
lying at Caesar ea in prison when Josephus came 
back from Rome." 

"Very possible, my daughter; and if he did not 
hear and see him, he must have heard of him." 

"Just about the time that Josephus returned," 



40 THE FALL OP JERUSALEM. 

said Charles, " they were having great trouble in 
Caesarea. -The Jews said, as Herod who built the. 
city was a Jew, the place belonged to them, and 
they ought to have more privileges there than the 
foreigners. The Gentiles, who were often called 
Grecians, insisted that the beautiful temples and 
statues there were never designed for the Jews ; and 
this dispute finally resulted in hard fights, and then 
Felix sent the Eoman soldiers, who killed the Jews 
till the streets of the city ran with blood. Their 
property was taken, and many of their first men 
were whipped and thrown into prison. ' The city 
was finally given to their enemies." 

"Did Felix rule long, Charles?" 

"About ten years, I think," replied Charles. 
"He became so oppressive that Caesar sent for him 
to return to Rome ; and we learn from the Bible that 
when he went off, he left Paul lying in prison with- 
out any just cause." 

"Many of the Jews followed Felix," said Mr. 
Sherman, "and accused him before Caesar, and had 



FLOKUS. 



41 



it not been for the interference of his brother, he 
would have been condemned to suffer death. The 
country was in such a bad and restless state, that 
Josephus felt that ruin was ahead unless something 
could be done to quiet the people, who seemed de- 
termined to rise and throw off the Eoman yoke. He 
assured them that it would be madness for them to 
think of fighting the whole Roman force ; 7 t would be 
certain defeat, and destruction to themselves and 
their- families. Festus was the next ruler, but he 
did very little except to drive out the robbers. 
Albinus succeeded him, but was so cruel, that he 
was soon recalled. 

"At length it was announced that a new gov- 
ernor had arrived, whose name was Floras. The 
people were delighted, and were ready to become 
quiet and obedient citizens, if their rights could be 
respected. 

"Josephus was glad to see this disposition, and 
hoped the war-cloud had passed away. He and 
others visited Floras, who met them with kindness, 



42 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



and promised that the rights of all should be re- 
spected. But it was not long before the nation was 
astonished to hear of his wickedness. Whole cities 
were nearly ruined by his exactions, and hundreds 
of the best citizens moved away to other countries 
to avoid the calamities that were hanging over them." 

"Couldn't they have accused him before Csesar, 
and been heard?" asked Charles. 

4 'None dared clo it, my son, lest Floras should 
hear of it and take their lives. God was forsaking 
these Jews. They had stoned the prophets, cruci- 
fied their Saviour, and persecuted the Christians, 
and now they were suffering great evils."' 

"What occurred next?" asked Charles. 

"The feast of unleavened bread was about to be 
observed,' 7 said Mr. Sherman, "and every man was 
required to be in Jerusalem. This was a feast in 
commemoration of the departure of the children of 
Israel out of Egypt ; and God had enjoined upon the 
people the necessity of remembering the great deliv- 
erance he had wrought for them. A lamb must be 



FLOEUS. 



43 



carried for each family, and there killed and eaten. 
The country was densely populated, and at some of 
these feasts multitudes were present. At this time 
Jerusalem was full, and wherever men met they 
were discussing the conduct of Floras. But they 
did it in low and confidential tones, while their faces 
looked earnest and anxious. Some however were 
more bold and spoke out strongly for war and death, 
rather than bear such oppression and servitude. 
Roman soldiers were stationed in all parts of the 
city, and the tower of Antonia, near the temple, was 
full of them ; and should they see the least move 
towards an outbreak, they would be down upon the 
unarmed people at once. 

"After a day or two the Jews were surprised to 
hear that Cestius, the president of all Syria, and 
Floras had arrived in Jerusalem. Then there was 
great excitement, and every mouth seemed unstopped. 
They crowded upon the president with complaints 
against Floras ; and begged of him, if he had any 
compassion upon the nation, to remove their wicked 



44 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



ruler. They told him with tears that they had 
been robbed, their friends murdered, and their 
rights taken from them, till death was to be pre- 
ferred to such a life. Cestius was sorry for the peo- 
ple, and told them th$t in future they should be pro- 
tected. He then urged them to be obedient and 
peaceable citizens, and not allow any outbreaks, 
and assured them that all should be well. 

" When Cestius went back to Antioch, Florus 
rode with him, and made him believe that the people 
were misinformed, that they were excited, and that 
while he had been kind to them, they were disposed 
for war and rebellion. And Cestius concluded that 
Florus was a pretty good man after all." 

" But we shall be obliged to consider him a bad 
man, 77 said Charles. 

"Sometimes God uses just such men to. punish 
people,' 7 replied Jennie. 

" After that/' 7 said her father, "Florus sent men 
to Jerusalem to take seventeen talents, (about twen- 
ty-five thousand dollars,) out of the sacred treasury, 



FLOKUS. 



45 



pretending that Cassar wanted them. The Jews of 
course were very much outraged to think he would 
presume to touch their sacred treasures, and rose in 
a mass to oppose it. Floras thought it a good time 
to fight, and taking a large body of cavalry and foot- 
men marched upon Jerusalem. 

''The Jews heard he wtls coming, but thought 
the best way to obtain favor was to march out like 
friends and escort him into the city. But Floras 
and his troops rode in among them, and trod them 
clown, till the poor creatures in a terrible fright got 
back into the city as soon as possible, and spent the 
night in great fear. 

" The next day Floras set his tribunal before the 
palace ; and taking his seat upon it called before 
him the high priests, and the most eminent men 
of the city, and demanded that they deliver up to 
him all those who had reproached him, and threat- 
ened punishment upon them if they did not obey his 
orders. 

"These priests and others told Floras that the 



46 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



large body of the people were disposed for peace, 
and that they could not know who had spoken amiss ; 
and asked that he would forgive them, and not by an 
attempt to punish a few. create great disorder in the 
city. 




"Floras was provoked, and ordered his soldiers 
to go and plunder the upper market-place, and kill 
the people they found. This was a densely popu- 
lated part of Jerusalem, and the soldiers not only 



FLOEUS. 



47 



did what they were commanded, but much more ; 
murdering women and children, and causing many 
quiet people to be whipped and crucified. All day 
the soldiers butchered them, and at night three 
thousand people lay dead. 

"The next clay there was a great rush from other 
parts of the city to see what had been done, and 
the sight was so dreadful that they all began to weep 
in a loud voice, and reproach Floras. But the 
priests rent their clothes and begged them to stop, 
or Floras would be provoked to kill them also." 

"What a terrible condition the country was in," 
said Charles. 

"Yes," said Mr. Sherman, "Every thing seemed 
tending to its destruction — Josephus w % as obliged to 
be very careful what he did and said, for his life also 
was in danger. Floras was not yet satisfied with 
the blood he had shed ; and calling the principal men 
together, he told them that peace should be restored 
on condition that they and the people should go out 
and escort in a company of soldiers who were on 



48 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



their way to the city. He then sent word to these 
troops to ride over them and destroy the Jews. 

"To satisfy him, and to save their own lives, they 
went out, but it was very unwillingly however, for 
they felt that it would do no good. At length the 
Roman soldiers came dashing forward with their 
brass helmets and bright spears glistening in the sun. 
The poor submissive Jews took a very humble pos- 
ture as they had been commanded, but the haughty 
Romans drew their swords and rode in among them 
and killed many. The Jews in their haste to get 
back into the city ran over each other in narrow 
places, till hundreds of them lay dead and dying on 
the ground. Those who reached the city, and 
others there,* hurried upon the roofs of the houses 
and fought, throwing darts and stones among the 
Romans, who were trying to reach the temple to 
rob it of its gold. Floras and his troops were 
driven back, and finally left the city ; and the peo- 
ple were glad enough to get him out of their sight. 
"Bernice, the sister of Agrippa was in Jerusa- 



FLOKUS. 49 

lem about this time, and was very much displeased 
at what the Roman soldiers were doing. She sent 
the masters of her horse and her guards to Floras 
and begged him to leave off those slaughters. But 
he had no regard to her requests. She then sent 
again, beseeching him to spare the people ; but it 
only exasperated the soldiers. They tormented 
those they caught before her eyes, and she herself 
was obliged to fly to the palace for protection, where 
she remained all night. She was then in Jerusalem 
performing a vow she had made to Grod ; and she 
went before Floras as he sat upon his tribunal, and 
stood barefoot, and besought him to spare the Jews. 
But it did no good." 

11 Christ," said Jennie, "wept over Jerusalem, 
for he saw how much misery was shortly to come 
upon it." 

Mr. Sherman then took the Bible and read from 
the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy: "And 
it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently 
unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to do all his 

Jemnrtlem. 4: 



50 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



commandments which I command thee this day, that 
the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all 
nations of the earth. The Lord shall canse thine 
enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten be- 
fore thy face ; they shall come out against thee one- 
way, and flee before thee seven ways. But it shall 
come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice 
of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his com- 
mandments and his statutes which I command thee 
this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee 
and overtake thee : Cursed shalt thou be in the 
city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field ; cursed 
shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt 
thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause 
thee to be smitten before thine enemies ; thou shalt 
go out one way against them, and flee seven ways 
before them, and shalt be removed into all the king- 
doms of the earth. And thy carcass shall be meat 
unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of 
the earth, and no man shall fra} r them away. The 
Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from 



FLOEUS. 



51 



the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth: 
a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand ; a 
nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard 
the person of the old, nor show favor to the young." 

"Father/ 7 said Charles, " could n't the Jews talk 
and understand the language of the Eomans ? 77 

"No, my son; neither could the Romans under- 
stand the Jews, except through interpreters. 77 



52 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 




^Agrippa — Revolution. 

Charles was becoming very much interested in 
the oppression the Jews were under, and read with 
interest of the hopes which were excited by the 



AGKIPPA. 



53 



arrival in the country of Agrippa, the brother of 
Bernice, who was of Jewish descent. 

" What do you know of him ? ;; asked Mr. Sher- 
man, as they seated themselves one evening in the 
parlor. 

"I know," said Charles, 11 that he was the son 
of that Herod Agrippa who, seated on his throne to 
make an oration to the people, received divine hon- 
ors, and was eaten of worms, and died. At that 
time this Agrippa was only seventeen years old, 
and was living at Rome with Claudius the empe- 
ror. Claudius thought of giving him at once all his 
father's territory in Judea, but concluded that he 
was too young, and kept him four years longer. 
About that time his uncle, king of Chalcis, died • 
and Agrippa soon after came into large possessions 
in Judea, and was a man of extended influence. 

" When Festus first arrived in Caesarea, Agrippa 
and his sister went up to salute him. While they 
were enjoying the hospitality of the ruler, and prob- 
ably wishing amusement, Paul was brought in and 



54 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



allowed to speak for himself. The apostle said he 
was happy to speak before King Agrippa, because 
he knew him to be familiar with all customs and 
questions among the Jews. At the end of his very 
eloquent speech, which is in the twenty-sixth chap- 
ter of Acts, Paul said, ' King Agrippa, believest 
thou the prophets ? I know that thou believest. 7 
Then Agrippa said unto Paul, ' Almost thou per- 
suadest me to be a Christian. 7 77 

"Father, 77 asked Jennie, "was he ever a Chris- 
tian ? 77 

"I think not, 77 replied Mr. Sherman. "He put 
it off, like many other people ; and after the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, he and his sister went to Rome, 
where he died, at the age of seventy. 

"While the troubles which we have been rela- 
ting were occurring in Jerusalem, Agrippa had been 
down in Egypt; and now he had but just returned, 
and was stopping a short time in a city near. Ber- 
nice, in the mean time, had despaired of moving 
Floras to be more merciful, and wishing to benefit 



AGRIPPA. 



55 



the Jews, had written to Cestius, as had many of 
the principal men of Jerusalem, asking his interfe- 
rence. Cestius felt it his duty to do something ; 
and calling "Neopolanitus, one of his tribunes, or- 
dered him to go down and investigate the charges. 
It so happened that the day he arrived at the place 
where King Agrippa was stopping, several of the 
principal men of Jerusalem were there to congratu- 
late the king on his safe return, and lay before him 
their grievances. 

"Agrippa was very indignant towards Floras 
when he learned how much. evil he had clone in his 
absence, and went with Neopolanitus to Jerusalem. 
When the Jews heard that Agrippa, who, being 
brought up a Jew, knew how to sympathize with 
them, was coming, they were overjoyed, and hun- 
dreds of the first men of the city went out to meet 
him. 

"They had not gone far before the widows of 
those who had been killed came running, weeping 
and lamenting with loud voices. This touched the 



56 



THE EALE OF JEEU SALEM. 



hearts of the men, who also wept aloud. Agrippa 
and Neopolanitus were greatly moved at the sight 
of this sorrow, and to hear these people beg for 
deliverance from their oppressors. Agrippa and 
Neopolanitus were taken over to the upper market- 
place and shown the desolations there, and then the 
Jews besought Neopolanitus to take only one ser- 
vant and go all over the city, and see if the people 
were not disposed to be quiet, and obedient to all 
their rulers except Floras. This he did, and ex- 
pressed himself pleased with what he saw of their 
conduct. After performing such worship at the 
temple as he was allowed to do, he returned to 
Cestius. 

"Agrippa knew, from what he saw and heard, 
that the people had been greatly abused ; and gath- 
ering them into the temple, gave them a long talk, 
in which he praised them for the good disposition 
they had manifested. Some asked if they might not 
send an ambassador to Rome, to complain of Florus 
to the emperor. Agrippa replied, 4 That would be 



AGKIPPA. 



57 



a dangerous thing for you to do. It might work 
to your own hurt. 7 

"He then placed his sister Bernice where she 
could be seen, and commenced by saying that the 
Romans were a powerful nation : they had con- 
quered nearly every people on the globe ; all over 
Europe and Asia they had carried their arms, and 
had subdued many nations, who were better able to 
maintain their independence than the Jews. He 
tried to show them that it was madness for them, 
without a fleet or arms or money, to think of going 
to war. He said, ' Do you depend upon the walls 
of your city ? Did not Pompey the Roman general 
destroy them years ago? If you could not keep 
your liberty when you had it, how do you expect 
to regain it when you are slaves? You cannot 
depend upon God, for he will not hear you on 
account of your sins. He has forsaken you ; and 
now, if you have any pity upon your wives and chil- 
dren, keep the peace. ' Agrippa talked in this way 
an hour or two, and he and Bernice both wept." 



58 



THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 



"Probably some of these same Jews/ 7 said Mr. 
Sherman, "heard Christ when he said, 'How often 
would I have gathered you, as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wdngs, and ye would not. 7 Poor 
Jews ! they did not know when good came, and now 
they were left to their doom. Before Agrippa left 
the city, he told them that they must build up some 
of the places which had been broken clown, and pay 
their tribute to Caesar, and thus prevent complaints. 
For a long time they had objected to paying taxes 
to the Romans ; even when Christ was with them 
they asked him if it w r ere lawful to pay tribute to 
Caesar." 

"He taught them by example to do it," said 
Jennie. "He once wrought a miracle to get the 
money. 77 

"Yes, 77 said Mr. Sherman, "Christ taught them 
to obey their rulers. These Jews accepted the ad- 
vice of Agrippa, and paid up all that was due, and 
the war spirit subsided for a while. 77 

Charles said, "The difficulty was, there were 



AGEIPPA. 



59 



two parties in Jerusalem. One was for resisting 
and fighting the Eomans ; and the other, with Jose- 
phus at its head, was for peace. Some suspected he 
was for betraying his nation more completely into 
the hands of the Eomans ; and their anger burnt so 
fiercely, that for several days he lay secreted in the 
temple. Eleazer, who was the ruler of the temple, 
prevailed upon the priests not to offer any more 
sacrifices for foreigners, not even for Caesar, as they 
had usually done. The chief men in the city saw 
what that would lead to, and begged of the people to 
do differently; but as they persisted in their course, 
which was creating great dissatisfaction, word was 
sent to Agrippa and also to Florus that more troops 
were necessary in order to keep the people quiet," 

"Agrippa was sorry," said Mr. Sherman, "to 
hear of this necessity ; he could not bear to destroy 
any part of the city, especially the beautiful temple. 
Yet as he was placed in his office by the Romans, 
he felt that he must keep the Jews in subjection. 
He gave Philip, one of his generals, three thousand 



60 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



men, and ordered him to Jerusalem. But Florus 
paid no attention to the request for troops, for he 
had rather have disturbance than not. 

"This asking for an increase of the army had a 
very different effect from what was expected. The 
Jews were aroused, and with Eleazer at their head, 
armed themselves, and seized upon the temple and 
the city surrounding it. But the Roman soldiers, 
with another party of the Jews, kept possession of 
the rest of the city, and for several days these par- 
ties fought each other. 

"Hundreds of robbers, who were prowling 
around, came in and joined the army at the temple, 
and with their short swords, which they carried 
concealed, stabbed all who opposed them. When 
Philip with his army arrived, the peace party ex- 
pected that Eleazer and his men would be routed ; 
but they were disappointed, for they rushed furi- 
ously down, and drove the Romans back. They set 
fire to the beautiful house of Ananias the high priest, 
and the flames had hardly burst forth there before 



dark clouds of smoke began to rise from the splen- 
did palace of Agrippa and Bernice. They also 
applied the torch to the buildings where their pub- 
lic papers were kept, and all were soon reduced to 
ashes. Mines were also dug under some strong tow- 
ers where the people were assembled, and they fell, 
killing hundreds. Poor Ananias the priest was 
nearly crazy in the tumult, and crawled into an 



62 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



aqueduct ; and Hezekiah his brother hid not far off, 
and there they lay in great fear while the work of 
death went on above them. But they were found 
next day by the robbers, who took their lives. 
When God gives up a people, he chooses his own 
instruments by which to 'punish them. All these 
troubles were steps towards the final overthrow of 
Jerusalem.' 7 

" Well, father," said Charles, u the Jews did not 
seem to be any better off in other places ; for in 
Caesarea Floras was murdering them by thousands. 
They ran to and fro, trying to save their wives and 
children ; but twenty thousand lay dead there in 
the streets at one time. As soon as the news of this 
horrid massacre spread over Palestine, every city 
was aroused and flew to arms. Some joined their 
enemies, and they fought and destroyed each other 
in the most dreadful manner. 

4 'When it was night, a terrible fear, worse if 
possible than death itself, prevailed, and robbers 
could be seen treading around among the dead look- 



KEVOLUTION. 



63 



ing for plunder. At Scythopolis the Jews were so 
alarmed that they all went into the ranks of the 
Romans; but they were suspicious of the Jews, and 
fearing they might betray the city, commanded them 
to go to a grove, a few miles out, and remain there 
in quietness. They left their all and went ; but the 
second night they were awakened only to see them- 
selves and their families cut down by the sword of 
•the Romans, and learn too late that they had been 
sent there that they might all be killed at once. 
"When the sun arose the next morning, it looked 
down upon thirteen thousand dead bodies in that 
place. At Askelon, a city of the Philistines, twenty- 
five hundred were killed. At Ptolemais and Tyre, 
and indeed in every city, imprisonment or death 
was their portion. And even down in Egypt, at 
Alexandria, the Romans are said to have killed 
fifty thousand in one day." 

"Charles," said Mr. Sherman, "you give us a 
very deplorable account of the country, and of the 
Jews generally ; I should suppose that by that time 



64 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



there would have been some organized array among 
the Jews for their own protection. " 

" Josephus did call a large meeting in Jerusa- 
lem," said Charles, " and told the people that, as 
the difficulties had gone so far, there was no hope of 
peace, and if they would unite, he would do all in 
his power to help them. So he joined heartily with 
his nation, and became their counsellor. Cestius 
heard of all the movements and disturbances in the 
country, and thought the time had now come when 
an army must be raised and the Jews brought into 
subjection. 

"He took the twelfth Roman legion from Anti- 
och ; and many small cities each sent in two thou- 
sand cavalry, with great numbers of archers ; and 
the petty kings around furnished troops ; so that, 
when they were all collected, armed, and drilled,' 
they looked very formidable. Agrippa took part 
of them under his command, and marched down with 
Cestius towards Jerusalem. When they reached 
Zebulon, a city of Galilee, not an individual was to 



BEVOLUTION. 



65 



be seen ; all had fled to the mountains ; so they dis- 
tributed themselves over the city, which was full of 
every good thing, took what they wanted, and then 
set fire to the place, though it was of admirable 
beauty, and marched on. The inhabitants soon after 
returned, only to see the smouldering ruins of their 
once peaceful homes. It aroused them, however, 
and hundreds hurried on to assist in the defence of 
Jerusalem. 

1 'The Feast of Tabernacles occurred about this 
time, and as Jerusalem was filled up with strong 
men, they were armed and put upon duty. Jose- 
phus estimates that on such occasions not far from 
three millions of people were in the city, and Ces- 
tius thought this a good time to strike a blow." 

"His camp, 77 said Mr. Sherman, " was a few 
miles from Jerusalem, and was equal to any of mod- 
ern times. If the ground was uneven, they levelled 
it, and divided it up into streets. The tent of the 
general was placed in the centre, and his officers 
were encamped around him, while the common sol- 

Jerusalem. £) 



66 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 



diers occupied the rest of the space. A high wall, 
with towers at equal distances, encircled it, but 
spaces were left for the great engines with which 
they threw arrows and stones. A gate on either 
side was for the use of the men and the huge army 
of elephants. Other beasts were employed, partic- 
ularly horses and mules, which they had by thou- 
sands. When they were about to leave the camp 
to attack an enemy, trumpets were sounded. At 
the first blast the tents were all taken down ; at the 
second the baggage was laid upon the beasts, and 
all stood ready; at the third they marched. The 
horsemen, with headpieces and breastplates, car- 
ried a sword in their right hand and a long pole in 
their left. A shield lay before them, with several 
broad darts. The footmen also had headpieces and 
breastplates, a lance, a spear, a buckler, a saw, a 
pickaxe, a thong of leather, a hook, a basket, and pro- 
vision for three days. A brazen eagle, to which they 
paid divine honors, led them wherever they went, and 
slothfulness or desertion was punished with death." 



JERUSALEM ATTACKED. 



(57 




V. 



Jerusalem ^ttacked, 

"On the following Sabbath, as the bright sun 
gilded the tops of the mountains which were round 
about Jerusalem, and lighted with splendor the 



G8 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



golden temple, the Romans were seen advancing in 
solid phalanx towards the walls of the city. The 
brazen eagle was raised on high, and they were 
exulting in the thought that the thousands of Jews 
before them would fall an easy prey to their prowess. 
They had waited for holy time, thinking the Jews 
on that day would make no resistance, which had 
indeed been true in some parts of their history, but 
now they were ready and desperate. 77 

"Father,' 7 said Charles, "they were greatly 
encouraged on account of their numbers, and rushed 
out from the gates with such force and violence that 
they broke the ranks of the Romans and marched 
through the midst of them, killing and slaughtering 
as they went. Some of the horsemen wheeled, and 
went to the succor of those who were firm in their 
places, and thus saved Cestius, who had been in 
great danger. Four hundred footmen among the 
Romans, and one hundred and fifteen horsemen, 
were killed. Cestius then ordered a retreat to the 
camp. The Jews followed, and fell upon them as 



JERUSALEM ATTACKED. 



69 



they went, and captured many of the elephants that 
carried their weapons of war. Cestius lay in camp 
three days ; but the Jews were on the watch, and 
determined that he should not move without trou- 
ble. 77 

Mr. Sherman said, "There were many Chris- 
tians in the city. Some of them had seen and talked 
with Christ thirty-three years before, and had heard 
him say that when they should see 1 the abomination 
of desolation standing where it ought not 7 — which 
meant this very army, with the images of their idols 
in their ensigns — and 'Jerusalem compassed with 
armies, 7 then they should 'flee to the mountains. 7 
But now how could they ? The gates were shut and 
watched ; no one could go in or out ; every day they 
were expecting another attack from Cestius ; and, 
with his well-trained forces, he felt sure of taking 
the city. All they could do was, to pray that God 
would deliver them; they could see no possible 
way of escape. The mountains around were cov- 
ered with Jews, anxious to fall upon the Eomans 



70 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

if they made a move in any direction j and the thou- 
sands in the city were equally determined to do 
them all the harm they could. Agrippa saw his 
danger, and thought to try what words would do. 
He hoped to divide the Jews into parties who would 
fight against each other ; so he sent two men with 
orders to say to the Jews that if they would lay 
down their arms and come over to him they should 
be pardoned. 

" The Jews were so outraged by such offers that 
they slew one of the men, and the other made his 
escape badly wounded. Some of the Jews, however, 
were indignant at what they termed the rash usage 
of the peace embassadors, and this occasioned a war 
among themselves. Cestius was on the watch for 
this, and when he saw the disturbance, took his 
whole army and attacked the Jews around, and 
drove them back into the city. He then moved 
his camp nearer the walls. ;; 

"The poor Christians," said Jennie; "I hope 
they will escape somehow." 



JEBUSALEM ATTACKED. 71 

"It will be easy for Grod to open a door for 
them," replied her father. 

"For three days after this," said Charles, "Ces- 
tius kept a large part of his army out among the 
neighboring towns, gathering grain. He was giving 
the Jews time for reflection, hoping they would 
come to his terms. But on the fourth day, with a 
very large force and a few battering rams, he 
attacked the city ; and so furious were the blows 
upon the wall that it began to crack." 

" Why, father," said Jennie, " if the city was so 
strongly fortified both by nature and art, and had 
stood so many years, why should it give out now so 
easily V- 

"You must remember, my daughter, that Jeru- 
salem had been taken several times, and its walls 
destroyed and rebuilt. Perhaps the walls were not 
as strong as fbrmerly. In the time of Herod the 
city had outgrown its walls on the north, and he 
built a new wall for its protection. It was at this 
wall, which was never completed, that Cestius was 



72 THE FALL OF JEKU SALEM. 



at work ; and after a hard struggle with the Jews, 
who threw stones and darts with great force, it fell. 
The Jews all ran, and the Eomans marched in with 
great rejoicings. 

"But Cestius found that another wall, which 
could not be so easily destroyed, stood between him 
and the upper part of the city. He set fire to all 
the buildings where he was, and then made arrange- 
ments to attack the city where the Jews were as- 
sembled. 

" There was great consternation among the Jews. 
Some were for giving up and opening the gates at 
once, others were for fighting till every man should 
fall ; and in the confusion, a few slyly slid off, and 
informed Cestius that they would open the gates 
and let him in. He looked upon their offer with 
suspicion, and after consulting with his officers, con- 
cluded he would not trust or accejft their friend- 
ship. 7 ' 

"I am glad he did not," said Jennie. 
"But, my daughter/' said Mr. Sherman, "the 



JERUSALEM ATTACKED. 



73 



Romans soon after appeared behind the wall near 
the temple with their battering rams. And no 
sooner had they made their attack, than Josephns 
and all the Jews who loved their nation, resisted, 
and fought with all their energy, determining to 
give their lives, before the Romans should take 
their great and Holy House. Florus had secretly 
corrupted the camp-master of the Roman army, and 
a great number of the officers of the horse ; and by 
this means the war was prolonged, they not taking 
advantage of opportunities presented. 

" About this time many of the principal men 
among the Jews became disaffected, and, through 
the persuasion of one Ananus, were about to open 
the gates and invite Cestius in. But he could not 
believe they were in earnest, and delayed till the 
treachery was discovered. Ananus and his follow- 
ers were seized, thrown from the walls, and pelted 
with stones. 

" For five days the Romans made their attacks 
upon the wall to no purpose. Then Cestius took a 



74 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



great many of his most valiant men, with many 
archers to clear the Jews from the wall, and at- 
tempted to break through into the temple. Several 
times the Jews drove them back; but at length the 
arrows flew so thick, they were compelled to give 
way. The Romans were undermining the wall, and 
had all things ready to set fire to the gate of the 
temple. 

"Great distress now filled Jerusalem, and many 
wept and lamented, as if their beautiful and holy 
temple was already in flames. There seemed to be 
no help for them ; the fighting men were driven 
back, and others were rushing forward to open the 
gates, when Cestius, not knowing how matters stood 
within, suddenly became discouraged and gave 
orders for his army to retire to the camp." 

"Now," said Jennie, "the Christians may have 
a chance to escape." 

"Yes," replied her father, "our historian Jose- 
phus says that ' The most eminent of the Jews swam 
away from the city as from a ship when it was about 



JEEUSALEM ATTACKED. 



75 



to sink. 7 It has also been said that, when the city 
was finally destroyed, not one of the followers of 
Christ perished within its walls. 

"Cestius lay in camp that night, and the next 
day moved off farther. Of course the Jews followed 
him, and fell upon the rear, and by darts and stones 
killed many of his men; others attacked*the sides 
of the columns as they marched, and thus they went 
on till they reached their old camp at G-abao. On 
their way, Priscus, the commander of the sixth Ro- 
man legion, was killed ; also Longinus the tribune, 
and Emilius Secundus, commander of a troop of 
horse. A great part of their baggage was also cap- 
tured. 

"Two days Cestius lay in camp, in great per- 
plexity, not knowing what to do. The country was 
covered with Jews, and their numbers were contin- 
ually increasing ; so he concluded that the longer 
he remained there, the worse off he should be. He 
gave orders to kill the mules and other animals, 
except such as carried their darts and machines, 



76 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

that they might not fall into the hands of the 
Jews. 

"When all were ready, the Eomans marched 
out in face of the Jews, who did not annoy them 
much in open ground; but in narrow places they 
poured upon them stones and darts, and filling up 
the narrow way hindered their march and threw 
them into confusion. The horsemen could not climb 
the ragged sides of the heights to attack the Jews ; 
many of them attempting it fell, and were destroyed. 
The distress they were in caused them to lament 
aloud; but the Jews shouted and rejoiced, till the 
mountains echoed back their jo} r . Had not night 
set in, Cestius and his whole army might have been 
taken. But they fled into Bethhoron, a place twelve 
miles from Jerusalem, while the Jews lighted down 
all over the hills, waiting for them to come out 
again in the morning. 

"Cestius now came to the conclusion that he 
could never get off with his army in the daytime, 
and contrived how he might best run away. He 



JERUSALEM ATTACKED. 77 

selected four hundred of his most courageous men, 
and placing them upon the strong fortifications, told 
them to erect their ensigns in the morning, that the 
Jews might believe that the whole army were there ; 
then, with the rest of his troops, he stole slyly off, 
and travelled most of the night before his flight was 
discovered. 77 

" When the Jews saw the ruse, they slew the 
four hundred men, and then with all their might 
pursued on after Cestius. 'All the way they found 
the road strewn with weapons, engines, and instru- 
ments of war ; but on they went as far as Antipa- 
tris, some twenty miles or more from Jerusalem, 
when they concluded to turn around and give up 
the chase. 

" On their way back they gathered up the en- 
gines, and what other things they wanted, robbed 
the dead of any valuables they had upon their per- 
sons, and returned to Jerusalem with great rejoi- 
cings. They had killed five thousand and three hun- 
dred footmen, and three hundred and eighty horse- 



78 



THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 




men, while they had suffered comparatively little. 
This was in October, in the twelfth year of Nero's 
reign." 

"That was a very mortifying defeat for those 
boastful Komans," said Charles, "and no sooner did 
the news of it reach Damascus, than out of revenge, 
ten thousand unarmed Jews whom they had shut 
up were killed." 



JEKUSALEM ATTACKED. 79 

"Soon after the Jews who had pursued Cestius 
returned to the city, 7 ' said Mr. Sherman, "they per- 
suaded some and compelled others to break the 
allegiance they had professed to the Romans, and 
join them ; and a large meeting was called and held 
in the temple, where the war was discussed, and 
generals appointed to take charge of different parts 
of the country. Josephus was to have command of 
Galilee ; a man by the name of John was in charge 
of some cities near by : others were sent to other 
parts, and so the whole land was placed under mili- 
tary rulers. A hundred thousand young men in 
Galilee soon offered themselves, which made a fine 
army for Josephus, who had been collecting arms 
from the spoils of the enemy and from other sources, 
so that nearly all his men were equipped. 

Getting his troops out in a large place where 
he could review them, Josephus made a long ad- 
dress, in which he spoke for some time of the thor- 
ough discipline of the Romans, their determination 
of spirit, and their courage, and said, • If you wish 



80 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

to repel these enemies of yours, and drive them 
from your country, you must not only observe all 
things which I teach you, but you must keep from 
thieving, robbery, and other sins, which provoke 
Grod to fight against you. 

" These one hundred thousand young men who 
stood there that day full of life, and with buoyant 
hope of future success, each holding the old weap- 
on assigned him, looked with pride upon their 
noble general, and determined as far as possible to 
obey his orders, and rid their land of the oppres- 
sor's rod. Josephus taught them to give signals ; to 
call and recall by trumpets ; to extend the wings of 
the army, and to wheel them about. He divided 
them into companies, and appointed subordinate 
officers over them, after the manner of the Eomans. 
These officers he chose from the people of Galilee, 
in order to identify them in the work and to make 
them his fast friends. 77 

"Father," said Charles, "Josephus was all en- 
gaged in administering the affairs in his field, think- 



JERUSALEM ATTACKED. 



81 



ing he had the cooperation of all other officers near 
him, and wholly unaware of the trickery and hatred 
of John of GKschala. 

"This John was very deceitful, and while he 
pretended to respect Josephus, was all the time 
plotting his overthrow. He had no principle, and 
to serve his own ambition would have gone as read- 
ily into the Roman ranks as into his own. Power 
was what he wanted, and power was what he was 
determined to have, even should he have to murder 
Josephus to gain it. He was in great want of money, 
and by deceiving Josephus, got the privilege of sup- 
plying a part of the country with oil ; and by pur- 
chasing cheap and selling dear, he made large sums, 
with which he hired men to cooperate with him 
against Josephus. 

11 At another time he pretended to be sick, and 
asked leave to go to Tiberias for the sake of the hot 
baths there. Josephus treated him very kindly, 
and ordered nice accommodations for him ; but no 
sooner had he reached the city, than he began to 

Jerusalem. () 



82 



THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 



spread his treason ; and had not Josephus been 
informed of his treachery, the city would have 
revolted. Josephus went there with an army, and 
John made his escape. 77 

"I am glad to have you speak of this man," said 
Mr. Sherman, "for we find him practising his kna- 
very down even to the final overthrow of Jeru- 
salem. 77 

"On another occasion, father, he made Josephus 
a great deal of trouble, and it came near costing 
Josephus his life. Ptolemy, the steward of King 
Agrippa and Bernice, was passing through the coun- 
try, carrying a great many rich garments and many 
silver cups, and six hundred pieces of gold, when 
one of the Jewish guards laid a snare for him, and 
robbed him of the whole. It was all carried to 
Josephus. The robbers expected a share of it, and 
being disappointed, united with John in raising a 
great outcry against Josephus 7 loyalty ; and made 
so many believe that their general was going to 
deliver them all into the hands of the Eomans, that 



JERUSALEM ATTACKED. 



83 



they surrounded his house in the night, and he barely 
escaped with his life." 

"Yes, Charles, Josephus had a great deal of 
trouble in establishing himself in Galilee ; but he 
finally succeeded, and all went to work in earnest 
to prepare for the return of the Eomans. 

" In Jerusalem, two men were appointed as gov- 
ernors of the city ; but there was much confusion, 
and very little order. One Eleazer, the son of Si- 
mon, had managed by trickery to get into his pos- 
session much of the spoil they had taken from the 
Eomans, and the money they had taken from Ces- 
tius, and to him the people were obliged to submit. 

"In every city, all through Galilee, every man 
was engaged either in strengthening the walls, or 
making instruments of war, or preparing for long » 
sieges by laying up in the cities immense quantities 
of provisions. Jotapata, which we shall hear from 
hereafter, was not well supplied with water ; and as 
there was no way of bringing it into the city in as 
short a time as they had to work, they concluded 



8i 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



to depend upon the cisterns, as some other places 
did, hoping all the time that they should escape a 
siege." 

''Father/' said Jennie, who had been listening 
in silence, "were the people in Jerusalem expecting 
the Romans back upon them again ?" 

"Yes, my daughter," replied Mr. Sherman, 
"they were expecting them back; and in every 
part of the city men were busy at their anvils, ma- 
king darts and other instruments of war, or carrying 
stone and timber to those who were repairing the 
walls, while others still were making all kinds of 
armor. Every day also, at different places in the 
city, might be seen large companies of young men 
hurriedly drilling, though without much system or 
order ; and the whole city was but a great work- 
shop of tumultuous labor. But if you had walked 
around and watched the sad countenances of the 
older people, and listened to their lamentations, you 
would have known that they believed that those 
terrible days, of which Christ spoke, were now even 



JERUSALEM ATTACKED. 



85 



at the door. They wept and prayed and fasted, and 
with loud lamentations deplored their present hope- 
less condition.' 7 

l M should like to know," said Charles, 1 'what 
the Eomans were doing all this time. I wonder 
they should give the Jews time to build up their 
walls." 

"They had enough to do/ 7 replied Mr. Sherman, 
"for their forces were pretty well cut up and scat- 
tered ; and then they were obliged to report to 
Nero, their emperor, who lived in Home ; and as 
they had no railroads or steamboats or telegraph 
wires, they were obliged to send messengers on 
their slow sailing ships to carry the sad news of 
their defeat. 77 

"Wasn't Nero angry when he heard that the 
Romans had been defeated ? 77 asked Charles. 

"He was indeed, 77 replied his father; "but he 
•tried to hidfe his mortification, and in a pompous 
way said, 1 My generals have been remiss ; they 
have not done their duty ; 1 7 11 send a new com- 



86 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



mander, who will exterminate those rebellious Jews.' 
Then he began to wonder whom he could send : he 
wanted the very best man he had among his officers. 
He finally concluded to send for an old gray- 
headed general who had conquered the Germans at 
one time, had recovered the British Isles at another, 
and had been in the army nearly all his life. His 
name was Yespasiax. 

1 4 When the old man heard what Nero had to 
say, he replied ' that he would undertake the war, 
but that he must have more troops. 7 Nero told him 
to do whatever he thought best ; so Vespasian sent 
his son Titus down to Alexandria in Egypt for the 
fifth and tenth legions. V 

" How many soldiers were there in a legion?" 
asked Charles. 

"A legion was six thousand men," replied Mr. 
Sherman. 

"Then," said Jennie, "he sent for' twelve thou- 
sand old warriors. Josephus had better build his 
walls strong." 



JEEUSALEM ATTACKED. 



87 



" Vespasian, 77 continued Mr. Sherman, "told 
Titus to go down to Alexandria, put his troops on 
board ships, and sail direct for Judea, while he 
would go by land, and meet him there. Of course 
it took a long time to accomplish all this ; and it 
gave Josephus time to fortify the cities, and bring 
the Jews to act together. Vespasian finally arrived 
at Antioch, where King Agrippa with all his army 
waited to receive him. 

"Josephus was wide awake to all these move- 
ments ; and when he heard of this great army, and 
then thought of the poorly-armed Jews, and their 
disposition to desert and fight against each other, 
he was discouraged, and felt that it was of no use 
to try to hold out any longer. Yet he would not 
say so to those who were depending upon him and 
looking to him for help, for they would then con- 
sider him a traitor and a deserter ; so he deter- 
mined to fight till the last, and die with the rest. 

"Yespasian prepared for his work of death by 
reorganizing his troops ; and when all were ready, 



88 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



he marched down towards Ptolemais, which lies on 
the Mediterranean below Tyre.' 7 

"The Jews came out and welcomed him at 
Sepphoris," said Charles. 

41 Yes," replied Mr. Sherman, " and Vespasian 
left them six thousand footmen and a thousand 
horsemen, to pass over the plain and do all the 
harm they could. Josephus did not like to lose 
that city, especially as he had built great and strong 
Avails around it. So he took an army and marched 
against it ; but he could do nothing, and soon ran 
away and went off to Tiberias." 

i4 Yes, father," said Charles, "and the people at 
Tiberias were very much frightened when he came 
there, and thought the Eomans would come after 
him and destroy their city; and they knew too that 
Josephus was beginning to despair of success, and 
that added to their distress." 

"Well, what effect did Josephus' attempt to 
recover Sepphoris have upon the Romans ?" asked 
Mr. Sherman. 



JEEU SALEM ATTACKED. 



89 



" Oh, it made them very angry, and a great deal 
worse, " replied Charles. ''Those horsemen rode 
night and day scouring the country for miles, burn- 
ing houses, killing every one they thought strong 




enough to fight, and taking others off into captiv- 
ity. Galilee was filled with distress, and the peo- 
ple flocked to the walled cities to get away from 
the Romans." 



90 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



" Josephus," said Mr. Sherman, "was at a loss 
to know what to do under these terrible circum- 
stances, and wrote to the men in power at Jerusa- 
lem, and told them the true state of affairs. He 
requested them to inform him immediately if they 
thought of coming to terms with the Eomans, and 
if not, to send him an army as soon as possible." 



VESPASIAN— TITUS. 



91 




VI. 

"y ESPASI AN yiTUS JhE jSlEGE OF jJ OTA PAT A. 

"Titus," said Mr. Sherman, "had made all the 
haste he could, and had sailed very rapidly with his 
troops, considering that it was winter, and Vespa- 
sian was both surprised and rejoiced when he arriv- 



92 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

ed at Ptolemais. As soon as the 'troops were landed 
Yespasian went out to review them. 

44 They were a savage looking set of men, who 
had become hardened by seeing suffering, and were 
now ready for any deeds of blood in Palestine. 
Titus joined them to the fifteenth legion, which was 
with his father, and eighteen cohorts followed these 
legions. " 

''How many were there in a cohort?" asked 
Jennie. 

"Generally six hundred foot soldiers," replied 
Mr. Sherman, "but these were not all; five cohorts 
with a troop of horse came from Csesarea ; five troops 
more from Syria ; Agrippa sent in thousands of men, 
and the king of Arabia six thousand more, who 
were all archers. When the army was numbered 
they found they had over sixty thousand men." 

11 We are told .too," said Charlie, "that Placidus, 
who was doing so much damage with his horsemen 
over Galilee, saw so many running to Jotapata that 
he determined to take it ; but the Jews came out 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 



93 



and fought bravely, and drove him off in disgrace. 
That made Yespasian angry, and he said that he 
would soon be ready, and then they would see what 
could be done." 

"Yes," replied Mr. Sherman, " Yespasian had 
been at Ptolemais for some time, and now he was 
about to move forward, and if possible find and take 
Josephus. He thought if he could but get him, the 
other Jews would be discouraged, and give up at 
once." 

"Father," said Charles, "I have read all about 
ttte siege of Jotapata, but I cannot tell it as well as 
you can." 

" Yery well," replied Mr. Sherman, "I shall tell 
you in the first place, that the city was in north- 
ern Galilee, away up on a hill, and could only be 
approached from the north ; and there the road 
was so bad that an army of horsemen could not 
reach it. Yespasian came within a few miles, and 
then sent so large a number of men to level and 
widen the road that they finished it in four days." 



94 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



11 Where was Josephns?" asked Jennie. 

"He was off in Tiberias," replied Mr. Sherman; 
"but he heard of what was being done, and deter- 
mined to go and do what he could to save his friends. 
He thought it very probable that the city would be 
taken, and perhaps he should perish with the rest ; 
but as he was the commander of the army and the 
protector of the country, he could do nothing else." 

"Father, Jotapata was the city where water was 
so scarce, and they had nothing but cisterns to de- 
pend upon, 7 ' said Jennie. 

" Yery likely they might suffer for the want of it 
before they got through," replied her father ; "but 
Josephus had come, and the people were greatly 
encouraged. It was in the spring too, when the 
trees were putting forth their new green leaves, and 
when the birds began to come back to sing among 
the boughs, and build new nests in their old homes. 
Yet notwithstanding all this, there was a gloom 
hanging over the city. One man, we are told, 
skulked off and got over into the camp of the Romans, 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 



95 



and informed them that Josephus had arrived and 
was then in Jotapata. Vespasian was very glad to 
hear that, and said, ' God is delivering him into our 
hands, or he would never have shut himself up 
there/ He ordered Placidus to take his thousand 
horsemen, and go and keep Josephus in the city 
during that night ; and promised that he would come 
the next day and attack the city. 

"It was near night when Placidus reached Jota- 
pata and posted his troops around it; but Josephus 
saw the movement, and knew that the siege had now 
begun. " 

"I think there wasn't much sleeping there that 
night, " said Charles. 

"Probably not/ 7 replied Mr. Sherman, "unless 
by the little children, who knew nothing of what was 
before them. But I can imagine that their mothers 
hung over them with aching hearts and tearful eyes." 

"The next day I think they felt worse, father," 
said Charles, "for Vespasian came towards night, and 
pitched his camp on a hill where all could see him." 



96 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



"Oh, yes," replied his father, 4 4 and what a wail 
of sorrow went up from those distressed hearts that 
night! and how anxiously they watched, as Vespa- 
sian set a double row of guards around the city, and 
then another row of horsemen on the outside of 
them. They had hoped to get away, but now they 
were shut in, -and there they must stay. The next 
morning they saw that part of the army were march- 
ing down with their engines towards their wall. 

"Josephus called his men together and said, 
' You have nothing to hope for out of yourselves ; 
fight with desperation for your wives and children. 7 
The Jews then rushed out upon the Romans with 
great force, and fought like so many infuriated 
tigers. Yespasian and thousands of his men were 
watching from the hill to see how the battle was 
going, while the houses in the city were covered 
with mothers, wives, and children, anxiously look- 
ing over the wall for those they loved. Yespasian 
observed that his men were being driven back, and 
then called for the Arabian archers to come and 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 



97 



throw their darts and stones upon the Jews. Just 
think what a shower of them came from so many 
thousands of enemies ! Why, the air must have 
been black with them." 

"When Yespasian saw how the battle was going, 
he, with a great number of footmen, came around to 
a little hill from which the city might be taken more 
easily. When Josephus saw this move he was in 
great fear, and ran with a multitude of Jews to meet 
him, and succeeded in throwing him and his soldiers 
into confusion. At length night came on, and the 
armies retired to their quarters, tired out with the 
day's toils. For five days these two armies fought 
without much advantage for either side. 

" Yespasian began to get vexed, and called a 
council of war. These commanders thought it best 
to cut down trees, and fill up the valley at a certain 
place ; and when they should reach the top of the 
wall, they could very easily enter the city. The 
next clay when Josephus saw this army marching off 
in such large numbers, he suspected something 

Jerusalem. 7 



98 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



of the kind ; but when he saw them returning with 
large trees, and vast heaps of stone and dirt, he 
understood what they were doing, and ordered his 
men to cast down upon them stones and darts from 
the wall. This compelled the Romans to stop till 
they could twist the boughs of trees together and 
form screens, behind which they expected to 
work. But the Jews rolled down such great rocks, 
that the trees and the men were crushed before 
them. 

li 1 Vespasian then ordered his men to bring out a 
hundred and sixty engines, and calling out all the 
Arabian archers, stationed them around the city, to 
throw stones, fire, and lances upon the people. It 
was not long before they were all at work, and great 
stones flew screaming through the air, striking with 
tremendous force. Then firebrands whizzed near 
or against the Jews' heads, while the arrows came in 
showers. " 

"Oh, I remember," said Charles, "the Jews 
dashed out in great numbers, and set their engines 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 



99 



and their trees on fire, and burnt up their works. 
Yespasian then put his army in such a position that 
the Jews could not rush out upon them, and then 
they went on filling up the valley, till they felt that 
they were quite sure of the city." 

"The Jews would not give up even then, and 
went to work and raised their walls higher/ 7 said 
Mr. Sherman. "Josephus first ordered them to 
kill a great number of oxen, and take their wet 
skins and fasten them up for screens. This they 
did, and they worked night and day behind them, 
till their wall was raised far above the Roman 
banks. They also built towers upon them, from 
which they threw stones and darts upon their ene- 
mies without being themselves exposed." 

"That was perseverance," said Charles. 

"Yes, Yespasian was quite disheartened," re- 
plied Mr. Sherman, "while the Jews were so much 
encouraged that they commenced again to dash out 
and burn all before them. Yespasian finally said 
that the only thing he could do was to guard the 



100 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 



city, that no one might escape, and starve the peo- 
ple into submission or to death. 77 

" father , 77 exclaimed Jennie, "how wicked and 
cruel ! 77 

" People in war are not very merciful, 77 replied 
her father. "The Jews knew, however, that they 
had plenty of provisions for a long siege ; but they 
were indeed anxious about the water, and thought 
best to commence immediately to use it by measure. 77 

" Father, 77 said Charles, " this was in the spring, 
and as it did not rain in Palestine in the summer, 
it might be months before their cisterns would fill 
up again. 77 

" Why, I should have been thirsty all the time, 77 
said Jennie, " if they measured it out to me. 77 

" So were they, 77 replied Charles; "and they 
made a great ado, and were constantly running with 
their dishes in sight of the Romans, who often threw 
javelins among them, and killed many. 77 

" Vespasian, 7 ' said Mr. Sherman, "thought from 
what he saw that the water would shortly fail, and 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPAT A. 



101 




began to feel that fee should soon have possession of 
the city ; but Josephus was cunning enough for him ; 
for though he did not like to spare the water, yet he 
ordered that a great many clothes should be wet, 
and hung upon the battlements, till the wall should 
be covered with water. Vespasian looked on with 
astonishment. 'Why/ said he, 4 1 thought these 
Jews had n 7 t water enough to drink, and here they 



102 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



have it to throw away. There is no use lying here 
waiting ; let us attack the city at once. 7 

" That was just what the Jews wanted, for they 
preferred to die in battle rather than by thirst and 
starvation. 77 

"Father, 17 said Charles, " while the Romans 
were lying still some of the Jews dressed themselves 
in sheepskins, and trotted off in the night like dogs, 
and brought in some things which they very much 
needed, through an unguarded part of the city. 77 

" Yes, 77 said Mr. Sherman, " Josephus was full of 
contrivances, yet he had but little hope of saving 
the city. He knew, indeed, that it would soon be 
taken, and began to contrive how he and some of 
his officers might escape. The Romans had found 
out the sheepskin trick, so there was no help there ; 
and the people also soon found out Josephus 7 wish 
to escape, and crowded around him, and with tears 
begged him not to leave them. 1 We will fight till 
the last, 7 they said, 'if you will stay; but if you go, 
we can do nothing more ; the city will be taken, 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 



103 



and our wives and children murdered.' Josephus 
replied: 'If I go, I can send you help, and in that 
way do you some good ; but if I stay here we shall 
all soon perish together/ The people then flocked 
around him — women with babies in their arms, little 
children, and old men — and falling down before him, 
caught hold of his feet and held him, and with great 
lamentations and tears begged him to remain with 
them. Josephus was greatly distressed. He knew 
he could not save these people from death by remain- 
ing, but he pitied them from the depths of his soul, 
and finally told them that he had decided to stay 
and die with them. 

"Oh, how delighted these poor creatures were! 
It lengthened out, they thought, their miserable 
existence, and they still hoped that something might 
occur to drive their enemies away. They were so 
elated that they rushed upon the Romans with such 
fury that they drove them back even to their camp, 
and for several days they were obliged to retreat. 

" Vespasian was mortified to be so annoyed, and 



104 



THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 



called for his archers to clear the men from the walls. 
He then brought his great battering-ram, and com- 
menced pounding away with all the force he had 
upon the wall. At length it began to give way, and 
the people within screamed and lamented as if they 
were already in the hands of the Romans. Jose- 
phus hurried, and filled large sacks with chaff, and 
tying a rope to each, dropped them down between 
the engine and the wall." 

11 Yes, father," said Charles, "that hindered a 
little ; but the Romans contrived to cut off the 
ropes; and then, as much of the wall was new, it 
broke and began to tumble." 

" And don't you remember what they did then?" 
asked Mr. Sherman. 

"Yes, I do. The Jews collected a great quan- 
tity of pitch, brimstone, and bitumen, and rushed 
out with such a blaze that that fifth legion from 
Alexandria was thrown into confusion and ran for 
their camp." 

"And just afterwards," said Mr. Sherman, "a 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 105 

dart which was thrown by a Jew hit Yespasian in 
his foot. This greatly alarmed the army, and when 
Titus saw the blood he was very much alarmed ; but 
Vespasian got up, and moved around before them 
to show that he was not seriously hurt. 

" This wound exasperated the army, and they 
rushed back upon the Jews with great rage and 
noise. It was now night, and a terrible night it 
was ; for the sounds caused by the working of the 
engines, the shrieking of the flying stones, the yells 
of the warriors, the agonizing cries of the women and 
children, and the groans of the dying made it truly 
a night of horrors. Towards morning Yespasian 
told his men that they might take a short rest, and 
afterwards they would go up into the city ; and all 
this time he had the city surrounded with horsemen, 
who were to kill any who should make their escape. 

''The day dawned, the women and children 
came out, and when they saw the wall partly down, 
the dead and dying and blood every where, they 
mourned and screamed so terribly that Josephus 



106 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



ordered that every woman and child should go into 
the houses and remain there ; for the men could not 
fight while they were present. 

" The Romans were now back with their ladders 
to scale the walls ; and as the last thing that could 
be done, Josephus had large quantities of boiling oil 
brought and poured down upon them. Oh how 
they shrieked and rolled back in agony as this burn- 
ing oil ran down under their armor, which they could 
not remove, burning their flesh to the bone. Yes- 
pasian drew back his men, and began to think he 
should never succeed in subduing the place. He 
had been there now one month, and yet the Jews 
held out with determination. ^ Vespasian set his 
army to building towers, on which he placed light 
engines, and from these he threw darts and stones 
directly clown upon the Jews. 

" Forty-seven days these Jews had withstood all 
the force the Romans brought against them ; but that 
night a miserable Jew, in hope of saving his own 
life, crept slyly off over to the camp of the Romans, 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. , 107 

and told Vespasian that not many were left in Jota- 
pata who were able to fight, and those were so thor- 
oughly tired out that they would fall asleep before 
morning, and then might easily be taken. Vespa- 
sian was doubtful about the truth of this, for the 
Jews would not often betray each other. The Eo- 
mans caught one but a few clays before, whom they 
tormented, and finally crucified, in order to make 
him tell what he knew of Josephus and the city; 
but he told them nothing. 

"Vespasian concluded finally to act upon this 
man's advice, and sent his # army just before day, 
with ladders, which they placed very quietly against 
the wall, and Titus walked up and looked around. 
There lay the guard asleep ; and the soldiers who 
followed Titus cut their throats ; and on the whole 
army went, and had possession of the city before the 
Jews were aware that they were within the walls. 
Then commenced a terrible slaughter. Women and 
children ran frantic ; some men fought till they 
dropped dead, and many killed themselves. 



108 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

" Josephus ran to a deep pit, jumped in, and 
crawled up to one side, where was quite a large 
space out of sight. There he found many of his offi- 
cers and friends, with food enough to last several 
days. But the Romans were looking for him in ev- 
ery place. They turned over the dead, and searched 
the houses, killing all who came in sight, till the 
city ran with "blood. 

" At night, when he supposed the Romans were 
asleep, Josephus went out to see if there was any 
way of escape. But there was the watch by the 
wall, and by the gates were soldiers with drawn 
swords, and soon Josephus went back into the pit 
again. He lay quietly all the next day, but at 
night he stole out again. Still the guard was there, 
wide awake, and Josephus felt quite discouraged as 
he went back and jumped down into his miserable 
prison. But he and his companions were startled 
the next morning by hearing people walking, and 
half- whispering up over their heads. They listened, 
and drew back out of sight ; it surely was the Ro- 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 



109 



mans ; yes, it certainly was ! They turned pale ; 
their hour had come ; they had been betrayed. In 
a moment more Josephus was called, and ordered 
to come out, Then the news spread, and the Ko- 
mans rushed together, anxious to get hold of the 
man who had done them so much harm; but he 
would not appear. Yespasian sent him word that 
his life should be spared ; still Josephus was afraid 
to trust him. Yespasian then sent Nicanor, who, 
years before had been an old friend of Josephus, 
and he assured him that he should not be hurt. 
Josephus was about to leave, when the men with 
him raised a great noise, and said he ought rather 
to kill himself like a brave man, than to give up to 
the Eomans; and declared that they would run 
their swords through him if he attempted to go. 
Josephus had great difficulty in getting away, but 
finally Nicanor led him off to Yespasian. Then 
some cried, 'Kill him! kill him! 7 but Yespasian 
said, 'Put him in chains, and keep him closely; I 
will send him to Eome to be judged by Nero. 7 Jo- 



110 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 



sephus did not like that, and told Yespasian that he 
wished to say something to him in private. 

" Vespasian then sent all away except Titus 
and two generals, when Josephus said, 1 God has 
revealed to me that Nero will soon die ; afterwards 
you will be proclaimed emperor over the world, 
and Titns your son shall be your successor.' Yes- 
pasian had had no thought of ever occupying the 
throne, and was both surprised and pleased. Still 
he was doubtful about the truth of this till he made 
inquiries and heard that Josephus had before fore- 
told events, which actually came to pass. He then 
treated Josephus with kindness, though he kept him 
bound with chains. Titus too formed a strong at- 
tachment for Josephus, and thought him a brave 
and noble man, and was ready to help him out of 
prison as soon as he could. 77 

"That was a pretty shrewd guess of Josephus, 
wasn't it, father? 77 said Charlie. "You don 7 t sup- 
pose God really told him what was going to hap- 
pen. 77 



THE SIEGE OF JOTAPATA. 



Ill 



"No," said Mr. Sherman; "but the change he 
spoke of was likely enough to take place, for many 
a Roman general succeeded in getting the throne ; 
and he knew it would please Yespasian very much." 

"Poor fellow," said Jennie, "he fought so brave- 
ly, he ought to have been set at liberty. Do you 
think, father, that he was taken to Caesarea ?" 

"Yes, I presume he was," replied Mr. Sherman, 
"and he may have lain in the same prison which 
Paul occupied a short time before. News went to 
Jerusalem that he was killed at Jotapata. His 
father and mother and wife were at Jerusalem yet, 
and were greatly distressed when they heard he 
was captured and slain; indeed the whole city 
mourned and lamented for him many days. 

"All through that summer and the next, Yespa- 
sian went on subduing the cities of Galilee, which 
suffered about the same things that Jotapata had 
done. Down by the sea of Galilee, where our 
blessed Saviour spent so much of his time when on 
earth, Yespasian selected six thousand of the strong- 



112 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

est of the young men he had taken, and sent them 
as a present to Nero, and thirty thousand he sold 
for slaves. 77 

" So many as that! 77 exclaimed Jennie. 

"Yes, my child/ 7 said Mr. Sherman, "this was 
a very small part of those who suffered in the same 
way. Yespasian finally came to G-ischala, where 
that miserable fellow John lived, who now made 
his escape to Jerusalem. Grod sometimes makes 
use of just such wicked men as he, to carry out his 
own purposes. I think we shall hear of him again 
before Jerusalem is taken. 77 



VESPASIAN EMPEROR. 



113 




"All the cities around Jerusalem Vespasian 
destroyed/ 7 said Mr. Sherman, " as he had done 
Jotapata ; slaying the inhabitants, or selling them 
into slavery. The war carried ruin through the 

Jerusalem. $ 



114 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

hill-country and the plain, and desolation was writ- 
ten upon all things. Jerusalem was not yet touched, 
it was shut up within itself ; none could desert, as 
indeed they had nowhere to go, but into the very 
jaws of their enemy. 

" Yespasian retired for a while to Csesarea for a 
little rest, when he designed to come out and finish 
his work by destroying the great and Holy City. 
But he had not been long at Caesarea, before he 
heard with great surprise of the death of Nero, 
which caused a profound sensation among those Ro- 
man warriors. The question, ' Who is to be the 
next emperor V was discussed ; but they soon heard 
that ' a man by the name of Galba had been pro- 
claimed. And Yespasian requested Titus to go by 
ship to Eome, although it was winter and bad sail- 
ing, to get any commands this new emperor had 
for them. 

" Agrippa accompanied Titus ; but they had not 
gone more than halfway, before he heard that there 
was almost a civil war at Rome ; that Galba was 



VESPASIAN EMPEKOE. 



115 



dead, and that a man by the name of Otho had 
become emperor in his stead. Titus immediately 
turned back, and hurried to inform his father. Not 
many weeks after this, Otho killed himself, and 
Rome was in great disorder. The soldiers then 
began to beg Vespasian to assume the government 
himself ; and though he at first hesitated, he finally 
yielded, and there in Palestine, he was proclaimed 
emperor of Rome, amidst great rejoicing. This re- 
minded him of Josephus 7 prophecy, and he ordered 
him to be brought in. 

" How thin and haggard the poor man must 
have looked when he appeared at the door, drag- 
ging that heavy chain ! We imagine him stretching 
out his hand and saying, 1 Did I not tell you, .0 
Caesar, thou emperor and lord over the land and 
the sea, and over all mankind, that thou shouldest 
arrive at this honor? 7 * Vespasian said, 1 Cut off his 
chains. Put upon him new garments, and set him 
free. 7 

"Soon after this, Vespasian determined to go 



116 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

to Alexandria in Egypt, to gain support in that 
city, and then go on to Rome. And whom do you 
think he took with him, Charles V 1 

"I don't know, father ; was it Titus ?" 

"Yes, Titus and Josephus both, 7 ' replied Mr. 
Sherman ; "for he now wished to befriend Josephus, 
and make him as happy as he had been made mis- 
erable. When they arrived at Alexandria, thou- 
sands of people from every part of the empire came 
to welcome Vespasian as their new emperor. They 
rejoiced greatly, and had festivities, and offered 
sacrifices and oblations for many days. This was 
in the winter of a. d. 70; and Jerusalem had not 
yet been attacked, on account of the revolutions at 
Rome. 

"But now, Vespasian told Titus that he should 
commit the whole to him, while he himself would 
go to Rome to care for the empire. Titus took a 
select part of the army which l&y at Alexandria, 
and started on foot for Judea." 

"Father," said Jennie, "he must have travelled 



TITUS IN COMMAND. 



117 



over nearly the same ground that Joseph and Mary 
and the infant Saviour did, a few years before ; but 
they were not going to destroy people as Titus was r 
but to do them good." 

"That is true, 75 replied Mr. Sherman. "God 
sends his blessings first, and if they are rejected, 
then comes the punishment. He uses whatever 
means he pleases. Sometimes it is sickness, some- 
times war, and at other times famine, and indeed 
they often all three go together." 

"What were the people doing at Jerusalem all 
this time ? 77 asked Charles. 

"At first,' 7 replied Mr. Sherman, " they went to 
work and laid up vast quantities of grain and other 
provisions, so that in case of a siege they need not 
starve to death. 77 

"That was sensible, 77 said Charles. 

" Yes, 77 replied his father ; " but it was not long- 
before they began to fight again among themselves. 
That miserable John of Gischala was there, trying 
to get command of the city. He was very cruel, 



118 



THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 




and often murdered those who opposed him. But 
this could not go on a great while, for there were 
men of spirit there, who would not be ruled by such 
a tyrant ; and quite an army of them, headed by a 
man by the name of Eleazar, came out boldly and 
took possession of the beautiful and holy temple ; 
and when John with his army came against him, 
they fought from that place, and the temple was 
defiled with human blood. " 



TITUS IN COMMAND. 



119 



4 4 This," said Charles, " was while the Eomans 
were marching on to destroy them. What miser- 
able work they had ! Was n't there anybody 
there, father, that could bring them to see their 
folly ?" 

" There were people there," replied Mr. Sher- 
man, "who were greatly distressed at this state of 
things; and they finally urged Simon, a man of 
great influence, to take hold of the matter, and see 
if he could not bring the city into order." 

"Did he succeed?" asked Jennie. 

"No, indeed, my child; he only made matters 
worse ; for he fought both parties, and so they all 
three fought each other. John had engines, and 
threw stones and darts into the temple ; so that 
when people came there to worship, they and the 
priests were often killed, and their blood ran with 
that of the animal they were sacrificing, and stood 
in pools in the court. John was so bitter against 
those who opposed him, that he and his army rushed 
down upon those great storehouses where were thou- 



120 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



sands and thousands of bushels of grain, and set 
them on fire and burned them to the ground.' 7 

''Burned them ! 77 exclaimed Charles. 

"Yes, they did,' 7 replied Mr. Sherman, "just 
out of spite, although they knew that they and their 
own families would suffer for the want of food. Of 
course matters grew worse after this. Nothing 
could restrain them, and they went on fighting each 
other, and burning down buildings around the tem- 
ple, till they had a large open space where they 
fought day and night, filling the city with hideous 
noises and death. 77 

"Why, father, 77 asked Charles, "why didn 7 t the 
people, who were disposed for peace, take their fam- 
ilies and get away somehow ? 77 

"Because, my child, the gates were guarded, 
and if any attempted to go out, they were killed 
without mercy. 77 

" Well, it could n 7 t have been much worse, 77 said 
Charles, "if the Romans had been there, trying to 
take the city/ 1 



TITUS IN COMMAND. 



121 



"It would seem not," replied Mr. Sherman; 
"some thought it would be better, and were anx- 
ious to have them arrive." 

"Father," said Jennie, "wasn't it dreadful to 
have fighting going on in that temple ? It was the 
house of God ! And besides, you told us once that 
it was the most beautiful and costly building in the 
world, being covered with gold." 

"Yes, my child, you have no idea of the splen- 
dor of that house. In the first place, the stones on 
which it was built were larger than any you ever 
saw. There are some to be seen there now twenty- 
five feet long; and Josephus speaks of several over 
sixty feet long, and thicker than I am tall, which 
makes a pretty large stone ; and to put them in 
their places would be no child's play." 

" Why, father," said Charles, "I don't wonder 
the disciples said to Christ when they were leaving 
the temple, "See what manner of stones these 
are. 7 " 

" Yes," said Jennie ; " and then Christ told them 



122 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

the time was coming when they should be thrown 
down. ;? 

44 Did these men go inside the temple to fight VI 
asked Jennie. 

" The temple, my daughter, had around it sev- 
eral courts or open places, where thousands of peo- 
ple used to stand when they came up to their great 
feasts ; and the whole temple area was surrounded 
by a high and strong wall, with a fort at the north* 
end, called the tower of Antonia. These were the 
places, rather than the Holy Place itself, where so 
many were killed and so much blood was spilled. 

"While these things were occurring, Titus had 
arrived at Caesarea, reorganized his troops, and 
made ready to march against Jerusalem. He had 
the troops which his father had left, and those which 
were with Cestius when he was driven away from 
the city. These last were anxious to go and take 
revenge upon the Jews for their former defeat. 
Then he had his two thousand chosen men whom 
he brought from Egypt, besides a very wise man by 



SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 



123 



the name of Alexander, whom Vespasian sent as a 
counsellor and friend to Titus. Caesarea was only 
sixty miles from Jerusalem, and the second day's 
march brought Titus within a few miles of the city, 
where he stopped and pitched his camp. He then 
chose out six hundred of his best horsemen, and 
went down to reconnoitre. He wanted to see what 
the fortifications were, and he hoped the people 
would be awed into submission without bloodshed. 
As he wound around the hills and through the val- 
leys, he suddenly came to a spot where he had a 
splendid view of the city. The great temple daz- 
zled his sight and astonished his men. ' That house 
shall never be destroyed/ he said, 'if I can prevent 
it ; for it is a holy house, and a wonder to all na- 
tions. 7 While he was talking, lie turned his horse 
into a road at the right, that he might view the wall 
from that side, when suddenly the Jews poured out 
upon them in such a tumultuous and unexpected 
way, that Titus was cut off from most of his follow- 
ers, and came very near being killed. Two of his 



124 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



men were cut to pieces and their liorses taken. 
Titus finally made his escape with the rest, and was 
glad to get back into camp again. 

" The next night, a legion which had been at 
Emmaus came up. and Titus assigned them a place 
on a hill, from which they had a fine view of the 
city and its golden temple. Another camp was 
pitched a short way back of these, and one or two 
other legions were stationed upon Mount Olivet.' 7 

"The city was nearly surrounded with troops/ 7 
said Charles. 

1 "You recollect/' 7 said Mr. Sherman, "that just 
before the crucifixion, when Christ was in Jerusa- 
lem talking to his disciples about the destruction of 
the temple, and the great tribulation that was to 
come, he added that when they saw the city com- 
passed by armies, they might know that the deso- 
lation was nigh, and that then they must flee to the 
mountains. 77 

" Do you think, father,*' asked Jennie, "that the 
Christians left when Titus came ?" 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 125 

" Yes, I think all who could escape from those 
tyrants inside did so, but most of the Christians had 
left three or four years before. 77 

"Isn't it strange/ 7 said Charles, "that when 
these Romans lay there at their very gates, the Jews 
should continue to fight and destroy each other, 
instead of uniting against their common enemy ? 77 

"Very, 77 replied Mr. Sherman; "but some old 
Greek writer expressed a truth when he said, 
' Those whom the gods mean to destroy, they first 
make mad. 7 These Jews made several attempts to 
unite, and one day they all rushed out together in 
a disorderly way upon the Romans at Mount Olivet, 
and came near routing the whole legion ; but Titus 
heard of it, and took other troops there, and had a 
long hard fight. When the watchman upon the 
wall saw Titus moving his troops, he took it for a 
retreat, and shook his garment as a signal, and out 
rushed the Jews again like a drove of wild animals. 
They came as if they were shot from an engine ; 
nobody could stand before them, and finally the 



126 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

Romans were routed, and a great panic was created 
in the army. But Titus and a few others stood firm, 
which brought the Roman army to a stand, and they 
succeeded in driving the Jews hurriedly into the city. 

"It was now in the early part of April, when 
the Jews celebrate the feast of the Passover ; and 
according to Josephus, on such occasions there were 
two or three millions present. Besides, people had 
been so disturbed in other places, that they ran to 
this stronghold for protection, thinking it was a 
holy city, and G-od would defend it and them, as he 
had done in former years. There was one rich 
woman by the name of Mary, who had lived in 
Perea, east of the Jordan, and had been brought up 
in luxury and ease ; but she, with a great many 
others, became very much frightened, and sought 
refuge in Jerusalem. She took all she could of her 
property with her, and commenced living there in 
a very comfortable way, I suppose. She had a 
beautiful little boy, who, although not old enough 
to be weaned, was a comfort and joy to her in the 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 



127 



strange city. It was a bad place for babies, but 
Mary could not do without the little boy, and she 
hoped by coming there to preserve his life. Be- 
sides, she was a Jewess, and wished to be near the 
temple, where she could worship the Grod of her 
fathers, as she was commanded." 

"Father," said Charles, " could the people at 
that time go into the temple to worship ?" 

"Yes," replied Mr. Sherman, "Eleazer who had 
command of the temple, opened some one of those 
large gates for the worshippers ; and every morning 
and evening they sacrificed a lamb, as God had 
commanded ; and besides, at the passover all were 
required to be present, and each family to sacrifice 
a lamb for themselves. About this time John threw 
cloaks over some of his armed men, and sent them 
in as if to worship ; but when they were fairly in 
the temple, they threw off their disguise, and ap- 
peared all ready for fighting. The people around 
the altar were killed in great numbers, and their 
bodies thrown in heaps." 



128 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 




VIII. 

^he jSiEGE of Jerusalem — j^UNGER. 

' 1 Titus had now lain before the city several 
days ; but finding the Jews made no signs of coming 
to terms, he built banks or mounds against the walls 
of the city, after which he and a few chosen horse- 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. |*L29 

men rode out to discover if possible the best place of 
attack. He did not dare approach very near, but 
seeing a few Jews upon the wall, called out with a 
loud voice, to know if they would submit and re- 
ceive pardon from him, and thus save their lives 
and the city. 77 

" One man, father, 77 said Charles, " drew his 
bow, and shot at Titus ; but the arrow hit one of his 
officers in the shoulder and made a bad wound. 77 

"It made Titus quite angry, 77 replied Mr. Sher- 
man, 77 and he ordered that all the buildings in the 
suburbs of the city should be immediately burnt to 
the ground. He placed his engines on the mounds, 
and called out his archers, and cleared every Jew 
off from the wall. Then commenced in earnest that 
dreadful siege towards which every thing around had 
been so long tending. 

"In the city, Simon, who had great influence 
among the Jews, had an army of not less than ten 
thousand men ; and John, who had possession of the 
temple, had about eight thousand. But the regular 

Jerusalem. 9 



130* THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

inhabitants of the city had long been in want of 
food, and with great anxiety asked of each other 
what could be done. They said. 'Simon and his 
men are hunting the city over, and gathering up 
every thing there is to eat ; they take our meat and 
bread from our houses, and we have hardly had a 
full meal for weeks. And in the other part of the 
city, around the temple, John and his men are doing 
the same things ; and some in that neighborhood are 
starving to death ! Oh, the folly of burning up our 
storehouses! 7 " 

"I wonder/ 7 said .Jennie, "how Mary and her 
baby got along ?" 

"Pretty well for some time/ 7 replied Mr. Sher- 
man, "for she had money ; 'and as long as there was 
any thing to buy she had it. But at length these 
soldiers noticing she looked well, searched her house, 
and took all they could find. This they repeated day 
after day, till she talked very plainly to them about 
their conduct. But it made no difference, and 
sometimes for two or three days she had nothing. 77 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 131 



"The baby," said Jennie, " played and was as 
happy as ever I suppose.' 7 

" I presume so," said her father ; "but Mary was 
miserable enough, for she was not only hungry her- 
self, but was obliged to see others around her starv- 
ing and growing every day weaker and weaker. 
Little children were wandering around the streets, 
their eyes large and staring, and their fingers thin 
and bony, looking for something to eat ; and if by 
chance any one of them found a crust, some miserable 
soldier snatched it away, often pulling the poor little 
ones off their feet in order to get it." 

"What cruel men!" exclaimed Jennie. 

"People will do any thing when they are starv- 
ing," said Mr. Sherman. "While these things were' 
occurring, Titus was still at work against the wall ; 
and from three high towers which he built, threw 
stones, darts, and fire into the city. But one night, 
when the Romans were in their camp sleeping, a 
tremendous noise shook the earth, and caused every 
man to spring to his feet ; all was confusion till it 



132 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

was ascertained that one of the towers erected by 
the Romans had fallen. The Jews too, were fright- 
ened, thinking their own wall had tumbled, and that 
the Romans were in the city. 

" Titus next built a new engine of great power, 
which he named Nico. This he brought to bear 
upon a weak part of the wall, and the Jews in great 
terror soon saw it yielding. When they saw that it 
must fall, they withdrew and shut themselves within 
the next wall, for the city was surrounded by three, 
and they soon saw the Romans clambering oyer the 
outer wall. Those who got in first, opened the gates 
for the others, and soon they had possession of all 
that part of the city, which they burned. They then 
demolished the captured wall, that it might no longer 
be in their way." 

" We have not heard any thing of Josephus for 
some time," said Jennie. 

"We do not know when he returned," replied 
her father; "but he was now with Titus, who had 
great regard for him. 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 133 

" A few Jews appeared upon the wall about this 
time, and begged to be received and forgiven. Titus 
asked Josephus to go forward to receive their pledge, 
but he assured Titus that they were not to be trust- 
ed. A Roman soldier, noticing that they offered a 
bag of gold, darted forward to receive it ; but they 
threw a large stone at his head from which he 
barely escaped. Titus ordered the great engine 
Nico to be brought forward : this was expected to 
conquer all things, and soon it was battering away 
upon the second wall." 

"The Jews must have known by this time/ 7 said 
Charles, "that they would finally be conquered, 
yet it seems that they would rather suffer starvation 
and death itself, than submit." 

"That is true," replied Mr. Sherman; "but of 
what avail was all their courage, when they were 
forsaken of Grocl? Just within and near the wall, 
were many narrow streets, lined with stores, where 
wool and cloth were formerly sold in large quanti- 
ties ; and it was not long before Nico had broken 



134 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

through into these, and just five days from the time 
the first wall fell, Titus and a thousand men clam- 
bered over this second wall and stood within the city. 

" Titus thought that the Jews would then surely 
submit, and he could preserve the city and temple as 
trophies of his victory. But he was again deceived ; 
for they poured down upon the Romans in those 
narrow streets in such numbers, as to threaten their 
utter destruction. The breach in the wall was so 
narrow that only a few could retreat at once, while 
those outside could render little assistance. Titus 
took a bold stand and kept the Jews back, while 
one by one his men climbed over, and made their 
escape." 

"I think Titus was not very wise to get himself 
in such a tight place," said Charles. 

"No, he was not," replied Mr. Sherman. "It 
was a great defeat, and encouraged the Jews to hold 
out still longer." 

" I wonder," said Jennie, " how those poor starv- 
ing people were getting along by this time ?" 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 135 

" my daughter, they were dying every day, 
and because the stench was becoming so bad in the 
streets, their friends took the dead down to the lower 
part of the city, and threw them in heaps over the 
wall. The soldiers^ were glad to have people die, 
feeling that there would be more food left for the 
living. 

"Mary was growing thin and sick and desper- 
ate, and railed upon the soldiers when they came to 
sf ,rch her house for food. All who passed her door 
showed that starvation was feeding upon them. Jer- 
emiah lamented in prospect of such a time as this : 
4 Their skin cleaveth to their bones ; it is with- 
ered, it is become like a -stick.* They pine away, 
stricken through for the want of the fruit of the field. 
Their visage is blacker than a coal, they are not 
known in the streets ; ? and this became literally true. 
Fathers could hardly recognize their own children, 
or the children their parents, such fearful work had 
the famine made upon them. 

"Titus again brought his great engine against 



136 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

I 

the wall ; and on the fourth day, though the Jews 
stood so firmly, they were obliged to yield. The 
Romans made thorough work this time, and marched 
forward in a body within the second wall, and began 
to lay plans for demolishing the next, and only one 
remaining. 

" Titus hoped, by exhibiting before the distressed 
Jews his great and formidable army, to awe them 
into submission. So he ordered his commanders to 
bring out their troops all equipped as for battle ; the 
footmen with their shining spears and breastplates, 
and the cavalry with their horses in rich trappings. 
The day arrived, and the troops came by thousands, 
and took their places where they pould be seen by 
the starving Jews, who covered the housetops and 
wall, watching this grand and imposing sight. The 
next day the Romans were all brought out again, 
and the next : still the Jews sent no word that they 
would yield. Then the fourth day they again made 
their appearance, and in sight of the Jews received 
their pay. Food also was exhibited in large quan- 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 137 

tities ; but they had to go back to their tents with- 
out bringing the Jews to terms." 

"It is astonishing," said Mr. Sherman, "what 
recklessness and barbarity existed among the se- 
ditious factions around the temple. Simon had 
been raised to his present position through the influ- 
ence of one of the high-priests, a man of eminence 
and integrity ; but soon after coming into power, he 
accused this priest and his three sons of sympathy 
with the Eomans ; and without giving him the privi- 
lege of making a defence, condemned them all to die. 
The old man begged to go first, that he might not 
witness the death of his children ; but this reasona- 
ble request was refused, and he was compelled to 
see them all cruelly murdered. Then, amid jests 
and tumults, his own life was taken, and the four 
mangled bodies were thrown over to the Romans. 
This is but a sample of what was daily occurring." 

" Yes," said Charles, "and I read that Josephus 7 
aged father was thrown into prison, and a public 
proclamation made that no one should be allowed to 



138 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



speak to him singly or in company ; and if any one 
raised a voice against this cruelty, he was immedi- 
ately to be put to death. 77 

"They probably treated the father worse than 
they otherwise would, 17 said Mr. Sherman, "on 
account of their hatred of the son. This oppres- 
sion became so intolerable that ten men banded 
together to throw off the yoke by opening the 
gates fo£ the Eomans. They had command of 
a tower ; and about three o'clock at night, when 
they thought every eye around them was closed in 
sleep, the offer was made, and they waited in excite- 
ment to welcome their liberators. But the Romans 
were afraid of deception, and hesitated. At length 
Titus accepted the offer, and started with his army 
for the gate ; but before he reached it Simon dis- 
covered the plot, took the tower into his own hands, 
and seizing upon those men, put them to death, and 
threw to the Romans their dead and bleeding bodies. 
Josephus was passing near, and was hit upon the 
head by a stone, which felled him to the ground, 



THE SIEGE OF JEKUSALEM. 



139 




where he lay insensible. The Jews seeing this, 
shouted and rejoiced, thinking they had killed their 
greatest enemy ; and rushing out, attempted to seize 
his body to drag it into the city. The Romans met 
them, and after a severe skirmish, succeeded in 
taking him back to the camp. 

"The news soon spread over Jerusalem that 
Josephus was dead, and his poor old mother, who 



140 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



lay in prison, was told the sad news. Her heart 
had long been nearly crushed by the sorrows she 
had experienced, but this was too much, and she 
mourned and lamented many days. She exclaimed : 
' This is all the advantage I have from bringing so 
extraordinary a person into the world ! I shall not 
^be able even to bury him, by whom I myself ex- 
pected to have been buried!' Josephus, however, 
soon recovered and came out, and with a loud voice 
threatened punishment upon those who had wounded 
him. He also exhorted them earnestly to accept of 
terms from Titus. 

"His appearance created not a little terror 
among the seditious Jews. Many who were dis- 
posed to accept his offer leaped from the wall and 
ran for the Roman camp ; while others, snatching 
stones, ran in pursuit as if to bring them back, but 
when fairly out of the reach of the wall, they made 
their escape also. So long, had they been without 
food, that they were bloated and diseased, and 
should have been cautious when food was set before 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 141 

theni ; but they ate voraciously, and soon after died 
in great agony. Some, however, were more cau- 
tious ; but they, and great numbers of others who 
came in, were cruelly killed for the gold which it 
was reported they had swallowed. In one night 
about two thousand of these poor creatures, who had 
come for protection, were dissected for this reason. 
There seemed to be no place on the earth for the 
poor Jews. Abandoned of G-od, starved and mur- 
dered both in and out of the city, they perished, and 
there was none to pity or save. Titus was indig- 
nant when he heard of this brutality, and would have 
punished the offenders with death, had not their 
numbers been so great. Still, these murders were 
continued after this, notwithstanding his threats. 7 ' 

"Father," said Charles, "we do not hear much 
about that John of Gischala; Simon seems to take 
the lead in the city." 

"John was there/ 7 replied Mr. Sherman, "and 
at his old business of plundering. He entered the 
holy temple about this time, and robbed it of many 



142 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

of its golden dishes, which had been sent by for- 
eigners, Roman kings, and others, and melted them 
down, to gratify his love of money. They were 
considered so sacred that the devont Jews almost 
expected the earth to open and swallow him up; 
but he replied that he was fighting for the Divinity, 
and therefore it was right to use divine things. 

"A Jew, who had been appointed to stand by 
the gate and pay a certain amount for carrying out 
the dead bodies, and therefore was obliged to keep 
the account, made his escape to the Roman camp. 
He informed Titus that since his army had lain 
before the city, about four months, there had been 
carried through the gate one hundred and fifteen 
thousand eight hundred and eighty dead bodies. 
Other eminent men made their escape also, and told 
Titus that as many as six hundred thousand were 
thrown out ; and as they Were no longer able to 
carry out the bodies of the poor, they had taken 
them into large houses, laid them in heaps, and shut 
them up. They also said that the people who were 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 143 

brought up very delicately, and hardly touched their 
feet to the ground in former years, were now search- 
ing over sewers and old refuse-heaps where cattle 
had been for morsels of food. How true were the 
prophet's words, 1 They that were brought up in scar- 
let embraced dunghills.' How would Titus have felt 
had he known that in eleven years from that time 
he was to meet, in the eternal world, the thousands 
who were perishing around him ? He now professed 
to deplore their fate, but said their blood was upon 
their own heads. 

il Josephus went again towards the walls to plead 
with the Jews to yield ; and though they jested, and 
shot their darts at him, he stood and urged them to 
consider the death that was surely coming upon 
them. 4 1 know, 7 he said, 'that my mothe*, wife, 
and children are with you, and will share your fate, 
but that is not why I plead. If that be all, kill them 
and me also, if it will but bring you to consider, and 
turn from your folly.\ But his long talk did no good, 
and he was obliged to leave them to their own cho- 



144: THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

sen way. John and Simon now seemed more- deter- 
mined than ever to keep every one in the city ; and 
if a person was even suspected of wishing to leave, 
his throat was cut immediately. The famine was 
growing more and more terrible every day, and 
many now gave all they possessed for a small quan- 
tity of barley or wheat, which they slyly carried to 
some inner room, and there, with the door locked, 
devoured it in silence. Others attempted to make 
it into bread, but snatched it away half cooked, and 
ate it hastily. No one set a table for a regular meal, 
but children pulled the last morsel from their pa- 
rents ; and even mothers, with all their natural love, 
stole the bread from the bony fingers of their chil- 
dren, and ate it themselves." 

" Father, ?; said Charles, " that is too heart-rend- 
ing an account even to think of." 

"It is so, ;; replied Mr. Sherman, "but it is lit- 
erally true. Titus found that he must now go to 
work in good earnest, and take^ by force the remain- 
ing part of the city. He gathered trees from great 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 



145 



distances, for all near the city had been destroyed, 
and built four banks from the valley up against 
the wall, the Jews all the time pouring upon them 
stones, darts, and fire-brands ; yet the work went 
on. 

''He also ordered a party of horsemen to go 
around in the valleys, and catch any of the poor, 
starving creatures who might be out gathering herbs 
to eat ; and some days they brought in as many as 
five hundred. These the Eomans tormented in va- 
rious ways, and then crucified them. One writer 
observes that 'so many were destroyed in this way, 
that the Romans lacked wood for crosses, and crosses 
for the bodies of these Jews. 7 All this was done so 
near the city, that their friends had a full view of 
their sufferings. 77 

"How much better it would have been for them,' 7 
said Charles, "to have died in battle, than to have 
suffered so long. 7 7 

" Meanwhile the mounds were steadily advan- 
cing. The one near the tower of Antonia was their 

Jerusalem. ~[ Q 



146 THE FALL 0% JEKUSALEM. 

principal hope ; for if they could but break through 
that, they would secure the temple, which was the 
main thing left." 

"The Jews," said Charles, " saw their clanger; 
and while the Romans worked without, they were 
busy within, digging a deep pit directly under the 
Roman mound. They supported it with heavy tim- 
bers covered with pitch, and filled it with combus- 
tible materials ; and when the Romans were all 
ready to take the city, as they thought, the Jews 
set fire to the cave, and soon the whole bank fell 
with a tremendous noise. The smoke and dust 
came up in a thick cloud and darkened the air ; but 
when the flames burst out, the Romans began to 
realize what had happened. 77 

"They were frightened and discouraged/ 7 said 
Mr. Sherman, "but the Jews took heart again, and 
came boldly out after that, and had some hard fights. 
Titus began to fear that, as he was so long in taking 
the city, he should gain little glory and no praise 
from his father. So he called his commanders to- 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 147 

gether, and counselled with them what should be 
done. Some of the rash ones advised to go in a 
body and storm the place, and take it at all hazards. 
Others counselled that a wall be built all around 
the city, so that not a Jew should escape. This 
they concluded upon ; and so great was the zeal of 
the soldiers, that in three days this great work was 
finished. 77 

"Why, father, 77 asked Jennie, "how could they 
have made it in so short a time ? 77 

"On the principle, my child, that 'many hands 
make light work. 7 Besides, there lay the old walls, 
giving them plenty of stone at hand." 

"Do you suppose, father, 77 asked Charles, "that 
any of the apostles who had loved Jerusalem and 
walked its streets with Christ, were still alive ? 77 

"Yes, 77 replied Mr. Sherman; "John, the be- 
loved disciple, he who lay upon the Saviour 7 s bosom 
at the Last Supper, and who was the first to ask, 
1 Lord, is it I who shall betray thee V he was still a 
bold follower of Christ, and more than twenty years 



148 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



after this time was banished to the Isle of Patmos. 
You remember he there had a glorious view of the 
Saviour, who said to him, 'I am he that liveth, and 
was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.' 
The apostle Paul was beheaded a little while before 
Vespasian was made emperor. So he was spared 
the distress which John must have felt over the fall 
of Jerusalem. 77 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 149 




IX. 



pURNING OF THE j EMPLE J AMINE. 

4 4 With sinking and despairing hearts, 77 said Mr. 
Sherman, "the Jews watched the progress of the 
Eoman wall as it rose higher and higher, shutting 
out for ever their last hope of life or escape. Along 



150 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

those streets, now covered with the dead and dying, 
Christ had carried the heavy cross amid the taunts 
and jeers of some, and the sympathy and tears of 
others ; and perhaps some of the aged among these 
suffering Jews now remembered his compassionate 
look as he turned and said, 'Daughters of Jerusa- 
lem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and 
for your children. 7 The days had come to which he 
referred when he said, 'For there shall be great 
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of 
the world to this time, nor ever shall be. 7 

"The famine now grew more severe, and 'the 
tongue of the sucking child clave to the roof of his 
mouth for thirst. 7 'The .young children ask bread, 
and no man bringeth to them. 7 'They that fed del- 
icately are desolate in the streets. 7 The upper 
rooms of the houses were filled with the dead or 
dying, with their faces all turned towards the tem- 
ple, as if foj; help from Him who had forsaken them. 
Some, who were stronger, wandered up and down 
the streets and the lanes, and fell dead where thev 



THE SIEGE OF JEE CJSALEM. 



151 



were. Others, in an effort to bury some clear one, 
fell themselves into the grave, and were unable to 
rise. No lamentation was made, but with dry eyes 
and open mouth they gazed upon the scene. A 
deep and ominous silence pervaded the city; but 
here and there a footfall was heard of some who 
were perhaps staggering under the weight of a dead 
body, which they were carrying towards the wall. 
Yet the robbers still prowled around, breaking open 
dwellings, and taking from the dead what they cov- 
eted, or robbing the living of their last morsel of 
food. So great were the heaps of dead bodies 
around the city, that they blocked up the way of 
those who rushed out to battle, and they trod them 
under foot, and fought with a sort of brutish des- 
peration. 

"Titus again commenced building banks, send- 
ing ten or twelve miles for timber ; for the whole 
country around Jerusalem, which had been noted 
for groves and gardens, lay a barren waste. Three 
weeks went by before these banks were finished ; 



152 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

and a long three weeks they were for the anxious, 
starving people in the city. The Romans were con- 
stantly fearful lest their banks might be burned 
down, as the others had been, and they could hardly 
hope to build more ; wiiile the Jews trembled lest 
the Romans should gain entrance to the inner city. 
Simon and his men were now sorely feeling the want 
of food ; and they made several ineffectual attempts 
to burn the banks ; but the Romans placed their 
battering-rams upon them, and made their first 
attack near the great and strong tower of Antonia. 
They imagined that it would yield ; but it stood like 
a solid rock. The Jews poured down upon them 
darts and stones with great force ; but they threw 
their shields over their bodies, an.d with bars of iron 
succeeded in removing four large stones. This, 
with the mine which the Jews had before dug, so 
weakened the wall, that in the night the ground 
caved in and it suddenly fell. But the Romans 
were discouraged when they saw another wall 
within, which John and his men had built. Titus 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 153 

knew that the soldiers who should first advance 
would certainly be killed ; and he made them a 
long speech, appealing to their courage, which he 
said ought surely to be equal to that of the Jews, 
who were now fighting without hope. He also 
offered rewards to those who should volunteer to 
go first, and assured them that ' if they should die 
in the attempt, their names would be crowned with 
glory here, and their souls would be taken up and 
joined to that pure company who are among the 
stars/ Titus did not hide the danger of the under- 
taking, and there was a general drawing back among 
the soldiers. 

M At length, Sabinus, a Syrian, stepped forward, 
and said, ' I surrender mvself to thee, Cassar. I 
will first ascend the wall. Ill success will not be 
unexpected, but I choose death voluntarily for your 
sake. 7 

" Every Roman was astonished, for the man was 
very small and lean, and his flesh black and thin. 
As he said this, he held his shield over his head 



154 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



with his left hand, and with his sword in his right, 
ran boldly forward towards the wall. Eleven Eo- 
mans came out and joined him. The Jews poured 
down their darts, and rolled large stones upon them ; 
but Sabinus, though he was nearly overwhelmed, 
succeeded, after a severe struggle, in reaching the 
top of the wall and in putting the Jews to flight, 
they supposing a much larger force was upon them. 
But just as Sabinus was sure of success, he stum- 
bled upon a stone and fell headlong. The Jews 
then turned and attacked him with darts and stones, 
but he raised himself up on one knee, and after de- 
fending himself for some time, sank clown dead, cov- 
ered with darts. Eight of the eleven were pulled 
back badly wounded, and carried off to camp ; the 
rest were dead. This occurred in July. 77 

"It was hot weather there, I suppose, 77 said 
Charles. 

"Yes, 77 replied Mr. Sherman, "and it is no won- 
der that so many dead bodies created a pestilence. 
A few clays after Sabinus fell, twelve men, who 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 155 

kept watch upon the bank, called three brave men 
and a trumpeter to join them, and about three o'clock 
in the night, crept slyly through the ruins to the 
tower of Antonia, which stood on a rock fifty feet 
high, and cut the throats of the guard, and took 
possession of the wall. They then ordered the 
trumpeter to sound his trumpet. Immediately in 
the greatest confusion, the Jews ran away, suppos- 
ing that the whole Roman army was upon them. 
Titus, who heard the signal, and ordered his troops 
forward, was the first to ascend • and as he did so, 
had a view of the Jews as they hastened forward 
towards the temple. Some of them forgot the mine 
they had dug under the Roman banks, and tumbled* 
headlong into it. Simon and John now united their 
forces, and a terrible battle was fought. Darts and 
spears were of no use ; but hand to hand, with drawn 
swords, they encountered the Romans, and in their 
struggle often killed by mistake their own men, and 
trampled them under foot. The sun came slowly 
up, and looked clown upon a scene heart-sickening 



156 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



indeed. An almost superhuman effort was made to 
save the temple, and the poor half-starved Jews of 
the city came rushing in to secure this result. 

"Up to this time the daily sacrifice, the bleed- 
ing lamb, had been laid upon the altar, and in their 
estimation it must never cease. By seven o'clock 
in the morning the Romans were driven back to 
the tower of Antonia, which they held ; and Titus 
gave orders to his soldiers to dig up some of the 
foundations of the tower, to allow the rest of his 
army to come up. 

" While this was being clone, Titus heard that, 
from the day of the battle, no priest had been found 
to offer the usual sacrifice, and that the Jews were 
in great trouble concerning it. Titus thought it a 
good time to influence them to yield, and sent Jose- 
phus to say to them, that if they were determined 
to fight still longer, they ought to choose other 
ground for the battles, and spare the holy house. 
When Josephus spoke of the failure of the daily 
sacrifice, great silence and sadness were observed 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 157 

among the people. For a long time he reasoned 
with them with tears, and urged them to submit, as 
late as it was, and open again the temple for the 
worship of their offended Grod. It had been a day 
of great sadness and lamentation among the Jews, 
and many of them were ready to do any thing, that 
the daily sacrifice might again be offered ; but this 
was never to be. Christ, the Lamb of God, had 
been offered once for all, and there was now no fur- 
ther need of types and shadows. But the Jews did 
not understand this, and with aching hearts ex- 
claimed, 1 The Lord has east off his altar ! He hath 
abhorred his sanctuary ! He hath given up into the * 
hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces! 7 Jose- 
phus was grieved for his countrymen, and urged 
them to accept of the mercy which was offered. 77 

"How did they regard his counsels, father? 77 
asked Charles. 

"Most of them mocked and taunted him for 
joining with his enemies, 77 replied Mr. Sherman ; 
"but a few made their escape, and were sent to the 



158 THE FALL OF JEBUSALEM. 

city of Gophna, where they were well cared for. 
The Jews, to cleter others from deserting, said that 
all who had gone to the Romans were murdered, 
and others who went would be served the same 
way. When Titus heard of this he sent to Gophna 
and recalled these men, and they came and walked 
around the city walls, exhorting their countrymen 
with tears and groans to spare the city. This exas- 
perated the Jews, and they fought again, throwing 
from their engines javelins and stones, and killing 
many of their countrymen. 

" Titus then thought he would try his powers of 

* persuasion ; and taking Josephus as an interpreter, 
he went to a place from which he could be well 
heard, and told the Jews that even the Romans, 

i whom they considered pagans, were shocked at the 
way they treated their own holy house, and asked, 
1 Why do you trample upon the dead bodies in the 
temple, and why do you pollute this holy house 
with the blood both of foreigners and of the Jews 
themselves ? I appeal to the gods of my own coun- 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 



159 



try, and to every other god who ever had any re- 
gard to this place — for I do not suppose it to be 
regarded now by any of them. I also appeal to my 
own army, and to the Jews who are with me, and 
even to yourselves, that I do not force you to defile 
your sanctuary. 7 He then urged them to choose 
other ground on which to fight, if they were still 
determined to go on in their vain resistance. 

" As Josephus stood and interpreted this speech, 
the seditious Jews said to each other, ' Titus is get- 
ting discouraged, and hopes to conquer us by words -/ 
and then they mocked and defied him. 

" The streets were so narrow that Titus could 
not employ all his force ; but he choose out some of 
his most valiant men, and committed to them as 
many troops as they could use, and about three 
o'clock in the morning while the Jews were all 
quiet, sent them against the temple. 

"They objected to Titus 7 hazarding his life by 
going with them, but asked that he would go high 
up in the tower, and look clown upon them, and 



160 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



witness their zeal to please him. This he did, and 
waited anxiously the result. The Eomans went 
slyly forward, expecting to find the Jews asleep, 
but were surprised to see them rush to meet them 
in full force. Those who came first attacked the 
Eomans, but those who followed, and poured into 
the narrow streets, fell upon each other there in the 
dark, and did not know till morning dawned that 
they had killed many of their own men. Great 
shouts were often heard from the tower where Titus 
and others stood, urging up the troops to greater 
deeds of valor, or warning them of danger; and 
thus they fought many hours without any decided 
advantage to either party. 

" In the meantime a way had been made for the 
Roman army to advance. They had also built banks 
against the great and firm walls near the temple, in 
the hope of getting possession of it in that way. 
The Jews saw that something desperate must be 
done to check their enemies, and with their own 
hands they set fire to some cloisters on the north- 



THE SIEGE OE JERUSALEM. 



161 



west of the holy house near the tower of Antonia, 
and burnt them to the ground." 

" Why, father," said Charles, " could they burn 
those cloisters without burning the temple itself?" 

"Yes," replied Mr. Sherman; " you must re- 
member that the temple proper was not a large 
building ; but including all the cloisters and courts, 
it covered a space six hundred feet square." 

"It was larger than I supposed," said Charles; 
"but, father, I don't think I know what those clois- 
ters were." 

"Perhaps you can imagine," replied Mr. Sher- 
man, " two rows of solid white marble pillars about 
forty-five feet apart and thirty-six feet high, with a 
covering overhead, and beautiful large rooms fin- 
ished off above ; these were cloisters, and there were 
a great many of them for different purposes. The 
roofs were adorned with cedar curiously ornamented, 
and the ground between these outside cloisters and 
the next within, was beautifully paved with varie- 
gated or colored marble. The temple proper, the 

11 



162 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 

Holy Place and the Holy of Holies stood on the 
top of this height, and there were steps leading from 
cloister to cloister, and low walls surrounding each 
separate division. It was the most wonderful work 
man had ever made, and was the astonishment of 
the whole earth. We, at this time, can get very 
little idea of its magnificence." 

"Those rows of high and beautiful marble pil- 
lars on a hill must have been a grand sight/ 7 said 
Charles. 

"Yes/ 7 replied his father; "but it would be 
awfully grand to see the whole structure in flames ! 
Two days after the first corner burned, the Romans 
set fire to another adjoining, which left a still larger 
space between the tower and the temple. Skirmish- 
ing between the armies was continually going on, 
and the Jews were watching with great anxiety a 
bank which the Romans were raising near the west- 
ern cloister ; and when they saw that it had nearly 
reached the top of the wall, they filled those beau- 
tiful rooms with whatever they could get that would 



THE SIEGE OF JEKUSALEM. 163 

burn, together with pitch and bitumen, and ran 
away, as if in fear. The Romans immediately 
placed ladders against the wall, and leaped exult- 
ingly upon the roof of this cloister, till they covered 
it. Then the Jews set fire to it, and immediately 
the whole was enveloped in flames. The most ter- 
rible distress followed ; some of the Romans jumped 
headlong down among the Jews, others drew their 
swords and cut their own throats, but the greater 
part perished in the fire. Great consternation pre- 
vailed among the Roman army, and a sadness was 
observed for many days upon their faces. Some of 
the northern cloisters were burned down about this 
time." 

"The surroundings of the temple were now in 
a bad condition/ 7 said Charles. 

"Very/ ? replied Mr. Sherman; "but the famine 
was raging so terribly within the city, that death 
seemed almost preferable to life. If the smallest 
particle of food was found, friends fought over it 
with desperation. Even the dying were searched, 



164 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



lest they were feigning death in order to hide food 
around their persons. Many were staggering along 
like drunken men, often entering the same houses 
two or three times a day. Old shoes and horse-gir- 
dies were chewed, and the leather from their shields 
they gnawed off in their distress. In passing the 
house of Mary, they smelled baked meat, and rush- 
ing in, they demanded that it should be brought, 
threatening, if she refused, to cut her throat, which 
they would have done. 77 

"Where did she get meat, father?" asked 
Jennie. 

•■Where? Shall I tell you where?" asked her 
father. "She had killed her own little boy, and 
had roasted him and eaten one half! She brought 
out now the other half from where she had hidden 
it; and as she offered it to these men, said, 'Don't 
be more delicate than I have been ; this is my own 
son. and what has been done was my own doing. 
Come, eat of this food, for I have eaten of it myself. 
Do not pretend to be more compassionate than a 



THE SIEGE OF JEKUSALEM. 



165 




mother; but if you so abominate this my sacrifice, 
as I have eaten one half, let the rest be reserved 
for me also.' The men were very much shocked at 
this, and went out, though they were half inclined 
to eat what she had offered them. The whole city, 
and the Romans, heard of it and were horrified. 
Titus said there was no guilt attached to him in the 
matter, for he had offered them deliverance, which 



166 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

they had scorned. Jeremiah had prophesied this 
very thing six hundred years before: 'The hands 
of the pitiful women have sodden their own chil- 
dren. 7 77 

"Father/ 7 said Jennie, "how could Mary do 
such a barbarous act ? I thought she was good and 
kind to her babe. 77 

"So she was, my daughter, till the famine 
overcame all her sympathies and love. We do not 
know what we should do, placed in like circum- 
stances. ' Lead us not into temptation, but deliver 
us from evil, 7 should be our daily prayer. 

"Titus now drew his great engine up the bank, 
and set it to work with all the force he could bring ; 
but it made no impression upon the wall. He then 
raised ladders, and when they were well filled with 
soldiers, the Jews from above managed to throw 
them down, and soon, at the foot of the wall, lay 
the mangled corpses of all who were upon them. 

"Titus finally said there was no use in trying 
any longer to save the temple, which the Jews 



THE SIEGE OF JEEUSALEM. 167 

seemed determined to defend to the last, and gave 
orders to set one of those beautiful gates on fire. It 
was thickly covered with silver, but it soon heated 
through and caught the wood, and from that it ex- 
tended to adjoining cloisters, and in a short time 
the fire seemed to be on every side. When the 
Jews saw this, there was no heart left in them, and 
they sank to the earth without an effort to quench 
the flames. All that day and the next the clois- 
ters were burning, while they looked on in despair. 

" The next day Titus commanded to quench the 
fire, and make a road for the legions to advance. 
In the mean time he gathered his principal com- 
manders, and consulted with them in regard to the 
destruction of the whole temple. Most of them 
advised to demolish it entirely, saying the Jews 
would never submit till this was done. Titus replied 
that he was not willing to burn down so vast a work 
as that was ; for if it could but stand, it would be a 
glory to their nation. 

" The Jews were so weary and discouraged, that 



168 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



they made no attacks upon those who were clearing 
a passage for the army. But the next morning they 
attacked the Romans with so much force, that Titus 
was obliged to send for reinforcements, and for three 
hours they fought with great bravery ; but at length 
broke and ran for the temple, and shut themselves 
in the inner court. 

" Titus retired to the tower of Antonia, and re- 
solved to storm the temple the next morning with 
his whole army. But he had not been long in the 
tower when the Jews again made an attack, but 
were pressed back up to the holy house, and the 
Romans entered the confines where Gentile feet 
were forbidden ever to tread. In the strife, a sol- 
dier caught up a burning brand, and without orders 
from any one, jumped upon the shoulders of a com- 
rade, and thrust it through the golden framework 
of a window. The flames soon burst forth, and a 
most terrible and heart-rending cry went up from 
the distressed Jews. No one can imagine their 
feelings as they saw this, their holy house, the place 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 



169 



where for ages God had appeared in his glory to 
comfort and direct them, now all blackening and 
going to destruction. Their last hope was gone, 
and they rushed forward to throw themselves into 
the flames, only to have their throats cut by the 
bloodthirsty Romans. Their bodies were thrown 
around the altar, while their warm blood ran in 
streams upon the ground. 

u Titus was quietly resting in his tent, not know- 
ing what was being done, till a soldier rushed in 
with the sad news. He sprang to his feet, and with 
his commanders hastened forward to have the fire 
quenched ; but in the tumult no order that he gave 
was in the least heeded or heard. He signalled to 
them by his hand, and threatened, but it was all to 
no purpose ; everybody seemed wild, and bent on 
destruction. Some fell among the smoking ruins 
around, and were unable to extricate themselves ; 
others were trodden down in the passage ways, and 
killed. The Jews rushed headlong into the flames, 
while the dying, in their last agonizing moments, 



170 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



turned their longing eyes towards its burning 
walls. 

"Titus saw that he could in no possible way 
restrain the people or stay the fire ; but as it had 
not reached the Holy of Holies, he and his com- 
manders went into it, and saw that it was literally 
covered with gold. He also saw the golden cheru- 
bim, the table of showbread, and the candlesticks. 
It all far surpassed any thing he had imagined ; and 
he hastened out and ordered his commanders to 
quench the fire at all hazards ; and if the soldiers 
did not obey, to beat them with canes. But the 
troops were wild over the riches of the place, and 
rushed on to plunder all that could be carried off. 
One soldier threw fire into the Holy Place, which 
Titus had just left, and soon the flames burst out 
there, and all was lost. The flames ran a great 
way, and rose high over those lofty gates, and the 
tumult made an echo among the mountains that 
were round about, till it seemed that the whole city 
had been on fire. 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 171 

"A false prophet had sent about six thousand 
people, mostly women and children, into the temple 
cloisters, with the assurance that God would appear 
in a miraculous manner that very day for their de- 
liverance ; and now these poor people appeared in 
their agony, but there was no way of escape, and 
they were all lost. 

"Josephus says, 'No one can imagine any thing 
greater or more terrible than the noise ; for there 
was the shout of the Roman legions, and a sad 
clamor of the seditious Jews, who were now sur- 
rounded by fire and sword. The people also who 
were left above, were beaten back upon the enemy, 
and under a great consternation made sad moanings 
at the calamity they were in. The multitude also 
that was in the city joined in this outcry with those 
that were upon the hill ; and besides, many of those 
who were worn away by the famine, and their 
mouths almost closed, when they saw the fire of the 
holy house, exerted their utmost strength and broke 
out into groans and cries. One would have thought 



172 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



the hill itself was full of fire on every part of it ; 
that the blood was larger in quantity than the fire, 
and those that were slain more than those who slew 
them ; for the ground nowhere appeared visible for 
the dead bodies that lay upon it.' The dead and 
dying were run over and trodden upon by the iron- 
bound shoes of the Romans. 

" During this great slaughter, " continued Mr. 
Sherman, " Simon and John, with their men, made 
their escape over a bridge to Mount Zion, the south- 
western part of the city. This was enclosed by 
strong walls, and they prepared to defend them- 
selves there. 

"When the fire at the temple had abated, and 
the groans of the dying had ceased, Titus and his 
soldiers brought their idols and ensigns, and set 
them up within the blackened walls of the holy 
house. There Solomon once spread out his hands 
to the Holy One, whose presence so filled the place 
that no one could stand before it. Now these im- 
pious pagans set up their golden eagles there, and 



THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 173 

offered sacrifices and burn incense before them, with 
shoutings and exultant joy. 

" The Jews saw from the distance this abomina- 
tion standing where it should not, and exclaimed in 
the bitterness of their souls, '0 God, the heathen 
are come into thine inheritance. Thy holy temple 
have they defiled ; they have laid Jerusalem on 
heaps ! The dead bodies of thy servants have they 
given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the 
flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. 
Their blood have they shed like water round about 
Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them. How 
long, Lord ? Wilt thou be angry for ever ? Help 
us, God of our salvation, for the glory of thy 
name, and deliver us. 7 " Psalm 97. 

"It seems very hard,' 7 said Charles, "that they 
were left to such misery." 

"It was sad, truly, 77 replied Mr Sherman; " but 
they had despised God 7 s mercies, and would listen 
to no reproof ; and now, when their destruction 
came as a whirlwind, they called, but God did not 



174 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 

answer. It is no wonder that in view of all these 
calamities, Christ wept over the city, and exclaimed, 
' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the 
prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, 
how often would I have gathered thy children to- 
gether even as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
her wings, and ye would not. Behold your house is 
left unto you desolate. 7 " 



THE PALL OP JEEUSALEM. 



i75 




X. 



Jhe y* 



f 



all of Jerusalem 



EATH. 



" About five days after the burning of the temple/ 7 
said Mr. Sherman, "it was discovered that a com- 
pany of priests and a boy were hidden in some secret 
place among the ruins, and were starving and dying 



THE FALL OF JE Pi U SALEM. 



with thirst. At length the boy appeared with a dish 
in his hand, and begged for water. The Romans, sor- 
ry for his youth and wretchedness, told him to come 
and drink; but he would not venture till they gave 
the promise that his life should be spared. They 
thought he was going to give himself up, and assured 
him that he should not be hurt. So he ventured, 
drank all he wanted, then filled his cup, and ran 
with all his might back to the priests. The soldiers 
called, and ran after him, and said he had broken 
his agreement, but he insisted that he had made 
no promises, and made his escape. After a while 
these priests came out, and begged for their lives ; 
but the Romans intimated that as the temple was 
burned, there was nothing further for them to do, 
and so they were all slain." 

"Simon and John, began to feel that they were 
in a bad condition, and proposed a meeting between 
themselves and Titus. The bridge over the valley 
which they had crossed was designated as the place 
of conference, and at the appointed time Titus, with 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



177 



an interpreter and part of his army, appeared at 
one end, while Simon and the Jews stood at the 
other. Titus commenced the parley, and after call- 
ing them many hard names, proposed that they 
should lay down their arms and submit uncondition- 
ally. The Jews replied that they were bound by 
an oath never to do so ; but said if he would allow 
it, they would take their wives and children, and go 
off into the wilderness, and leave the city to him. 
Titus scorned this proposition with great indigna- 
tion, and said they should not dictate terms to him, 
and that after that, no mercy would be shown to 
any one. Thus ended the meeting. 

''Titus gave orders to his soldiers to burn down 
that part of the city which they had conquered ; and 
the next clay they went about their dreadful work. 
The council-house, a large and beautiful building 
was fired, then a magnificent palace ; the houses 
which were filled with dead bodies were burnt 
clown ; then those in the lanes and by-streets ; and 
finally not one remained ; all were in ashes. The 

Jerusalem. 12 



178 



THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 



soldiers searched, expecting to find many valuables ; 
but the Jews had carried them all across to Mount 
Zion ; and when every thing was going to ruin 
around them, these Jews were busy burying their 
riches, or hiding them in the caves. Simon had fore- 
thought enough to take all the food he could spare, 
and secrete it in a cave, where he thought he him- 
self might possibly have to hide. 

" Josephus was sent again to talk to the Jews, 
and beg of them to yield, that Titus might not be 
compelled to destroy the whole city. But they 
mocked him, and told him 1 they were bound by an 
oath which they would never break, and dishonor 
themselves as he had done.' 

4 'Simon and John gave orders to kill any body 
found attempting to escape to the Eomans ; and 
hundreds were slain daily, being too weak to make 
much resistance ; and this part of the city was as 
full of the dead as the other had been. 

" Titus now began to build up banks against the 
wall of Mount Zion ; but it was a month before he fair- 



THE FALL OE JEEUSALEM. 179 

ly commenced to work his engines. The Jews were 
too weak and discouraged to make much resistance, 
and he was not long in breaking through. There was 
now no holy house towards which to look, and pray for 
deliverance ; and when the wall fell a panic ensued, 
and every body ran for a place of safety. Simon took 
with him stonecutters and their tools, and went 
down into his cave with the hope of eventually dig- 
ging through, and coming up on the outside of the 
Roman wall. But after many days of hard labor, 
they gave up, and sat quietly in their hiding-place. 
Titus marched in and took possession of that part of 
the city ; but when he saw the strong towers so per- 
fectly made, he said 'if the Jews had defended them, 
no machinery or power of man could ever have 
taken them. 7 Titus threw open all the prison doors 
and set at liberty all that were bound. 77 

" Do you suppose, 77 asked Charles, " that Jose- 
phus found his father, and mother, and children ? 77 

"We hear nothing more of them, 77 replied Mr. 
Sherman, "and it is probable that they all perished 



180 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

in the famine. The Romans were quite tired of 
killing people, and Titus told them they might spare 
all that were not in arms. As they went on in their 
bloody work, they killed the aged and infirm, but 
all who they thought might be useful to them in any 
way, they drove within the standing walls of the 
temple area, and shut them up. Then a kind of 
mock trial was had, and all who were suspected of 
having belonged to the seditious faction were killed 
outright. Others were offered food ; but it was 
probably so contaminated with idolatry, or blood, 
that it was refused, and eleven thousand perished 
there by starvation. But of the young men of the 
city he chose out the tallest and most beautiful and 
reserved them to exhibit hereafter in his triumphs. 

" God had threatened that if the Jews were dis- 
obedient, they should be sent again into Egypt, and 
sold for bondmen and bondwomen, till none should 
be found to buy them. Deut. 28:68. And now 
Titus, without any intention of carrying out God s 
plans, and probably knowing nothing of them, 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



181 



ordered multitudes of these poor creatures to be 
bound and sent to Egypt to work in the mines. 
Josephus says that ninety-seven thousand persons 
were carried off into captivity ; many of them doubt- 
less J ews from other towns in Judea. Titus also sent 
a great many as presents to the provinces, that they 
might be exhibited at the theatres and destroyed 
by wild beasts for the amusement of the beholders. 

" John of Gischala was discovered, and as he was 
brought before Titus, begged hard for mercy. He 
was condemned to prison for life, which under their 
barbarous treatment would soon end. Much search 
was made for Simon, but he could nowhere be found. 
The whole city remaining was now burned down, and 
all the walls demolished, excepting a part of the 
western portion, which they saved for the camp they 
were to leave there. Three of those strong tow^ers 
were also left, to show what the Romans had had to 
contend against. But the temple walls and all others 
were so utterly destroyed, that Josephus says a 
stranger would not have known that the place had 



182 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



ever been inhabited. It is said that Titus commanded 
that the ground where the temple stood should be 
ploughed as a field ; which also fulfilled prophecy." 

" Christ's words, that 'not one stone should be 
left upon another/ must have been proven true by 
this time," said Charles. 

"Yes, literally true," replied his father; "but 
Titus did not reach the deep foundations, which 
are there to this day, and have been examined by 
many modern travellers. Those stones are mar- 
vellously large. 

" The war was now at an end, and Titus ordered 
a high tribunal or platform to be built at the place 
where his camp had stood. When it was finished, 
he and his commanders ascended it, and when the 
army had gathered around, he delivered them a 
long speech, in which he praised them for their gal- 
lantry and courage. Then the names of those who 
had particularly distinguished themselves by per- 
forming great exploits during the siege, were read, 
and upon these he bestowed crowns of gold, and 



THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



183 



golden ornaments for their necks, and spears of 
gold, and ensigns made of silver ; and he also raised 
all these to higher ranks. To others he distributed 
plentifully from the spoils, such as silver, and gold, 
and garments. 

"Titus came down amidst great acclamations, 
and then sacrificed a vast number of oxen, which 
stood ready at the altar they had built ; after which 
the soldiers feasted upon the flesh. 

4 4 The army was then disunited, and the legions 
were sent to the cities they had formerly inhabited. 
Titus took thousands of his captives, and vast quan- 
tities of the spoil he had secured, and went with 
part of his army to Csesarea. It was now fall, and 
he designed to remain through the winter in the 
country, and then return to Rome.' 7 

"Father, they haven't found Simon yet, 77 said 
Jennie ; " and I think he will make his escape. 77 

"I don't know how he can,' 7 replied Mr. Sher- 
man, "for the soldiers are there on the ground. 
Titus, of course, could not sit idly down without 



184 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



excitement ; and after lie had exhausted all the 
amusements in Csesarea, he concluded to go to Cass- 
area Philippi, which lay more than sixty miles off, 
in the northeastern part of the country. Every- 
body, of course, among his own countrymen, as well 
as many others, flattered and cheered him ; multi- 
tudes turned out to see him wherever he went ; and 
now he took a great number of the captives and 
many soldiers, and after a weary, sad march for the 
poor Jews, arrived at that city, and commenced his 
shows. In a large enclosure, where hundreds of 
people occupied elevated seats, wild and hungry 
animals were brought, and many of these captives 
were thrown to them. They fought for their lives 
until they sank bleeding upon the ground, and were 
torn to pieces and devoured by the ferocious beasts. 
This afforded great amusement to the spectators. 
And when they tired of this, or perhaps the animals 
were no longer hungry, Titu^ compelled the Jews 
to fight and destroy each other. 77 

"What barbarity!" exclaimed Charles. 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



185 



While Titus was there, 77 said Mr. Sherman, 
"he received word from Jerusalem that Simon had 
I been found, and the soldiers wished to know what 
should be done with him. Titus sent word that he 
would take him to Rome, and on his day of triumph 
take his life.' 7 

"How did they discover him? 77 asked Charles. 

" He and his men w T ere starved out, 77 replied Mr. 
Sherman; "for thev had measured out their food 
from the first. The soldiers were stationed near 
the cave where he was hid, and it w r as a great ques- 
tion with Simon how to make his escape. At length, 
when there was nothing more to eat, he dressed him- 
self in white, and throwing a purple robe over his 
shoulders, suddenly rose to the surface. He thought 
the guard would be frightened at seeing such an ap- 
parition rising out of the ground ; but though they 
were astonished, they did not run, and they soon 
bound him, and made him tell who he was. This 
led to the discovery of a great many others, and 
much treasure. They found in these caves the bod- 



186 THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



ies of as many as two thousand people, who had 
either killed themselves or had died of hunger. 

"Titus continued his festivities at the north, 
and in one place celebrated his brother's birthday 
by destroying, by fire, wild beasts, and fighting, 
two thousand and five hundred Jews. He also went 
to Berytus, a Roman city, now Beirut, to celebrate 
his father's birthday. There he was at vast expense, 
and had magnificent shows, as he called them, and 
destroyed thousands of his captives. 

"He travelled as far as the river Euphrates, 
where the king of Parthia sent him a crown of gold, 
which he accepted, and after feasting the messen- 
gers, sent them back. 

" It was now drawing near the time when Titus 
must go to Rome, and he determined to go by land 
to Egypt, and then sail across the Mediterranean 
to Italy. On his way, he went to Jerusalem, and 
looked with a sad heart upon its ruins. How changed 
from what it was when he first saw it! Then it was 
the 'joy of the whole earth. 7 Now it had no exist- 



^THE FALL OF JEEUSALEM. 



187 



ence. Titus took with him those two legions which 
he brought from Alexandria ; also Simon and John, 
and seven hundred of the tallest and handsomest 
young men of the Jews, and numberless other cap- 
tives. He passed over the same ground that he 
travelled when coming up, and on arriving at Alex- 
andria, he left the two legions in their former quar- 
ters, and soon after sailed for Rome. 

"When he arrived, the greatest display was in 
preparation for him. The Senate had met, and 
ordered two pompous celebrations — one for Titus 
and the other for Yespasian. But they finally 
merged the two in one great and magnificent dis- 
play. Yespasian met Titus and Domitian, in the 
presence of the people, amid great rejoicings. The 
whole city poured out and filled the road for a great 
distance, leaving only a narrow way, through which 
royalty might pass. Great numbers of soldiers 
marched out before day to the temple of Isis, where 
Yespasian and his sons were, who came out at the 
break of day, dressed in royal purple robes, and 



188 THE FALL OF JEKUSALEM. 

crowned with laurel. All then moved off to the 
place called 'Octavia's Walks, 7 where the Senate 
and principal rulers and a large number of horse- 
men had assembled. 

"A high tribunal had been erected, on which 
were ivory chairs. In these Vespasian and Titus 
were seated, amid great cheering and rejoicings. 
After a little Vespasian arose, and signalling to the 
crowd to be silent, drew his robe nearly over his 
head, and prayed to his idol gocls. When he fin- 
ished, Titus went through the same ceremony. Then 
Vespasian made a short speech, and afterwards the 
whole crowd moved off to a certain place where 
pompous shows were exhibited. Then they took 
food, and offered sacrifices to the idols which stood 
near. More beautiful robes and ornaments were 
there put upon these royal personages ; and bear- 
ing the golden candlestick, which had seven branches, 
and the golden table, and the law of the Jews, which 
was the Old Testament, and the other numerous 
trophies they had taken from Jerusalem, they moved 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM 189 

forward, followed by thousands of the captive Jews. 
Simon had a rope around his neck, and was tor- 
mented air the way. He was marching to his place 
of execution. 

"In the procession were exhibited such vast 
quantities of articles of gold and silver that they 
seemed to the spectators like a flowing river. They 
also had vast pieces of embroidery suspended, rep- 
resenting the taking and burning of a city. There 
were also transparent precious stones, some in crowns 
of gold, others in bunches and large and elaborately 
carved gods, and other representations; and these 
were elevated so high above the heads of the crowd 
that it was a wonder that anybody was able to keep 
them from falling. Others displayed golden car- 
pets. 

"But of all the shows, those which Titus had 
taken from the temple attracted the most attention. 
A large company of men, with golden or ivory ima- 
ges of victory in their hands, marched in front of 
Vespasian and Titus ; and behind them, on a beau- 



190 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



tiful horse, rode Domitian. When they arrived at 
the temple of Jupiter the crowd halted, and all were 
silent, waiting for the announcement that the rebel 
general was beheaded. Simon was compelled then 
to come forward to be slain ; after which the proc- 
lamation was made that he was dead, and all that 
vast crowd sent up shouts that made the earth ring 
again. Sacrifices were again offered to their gods, 
and the rest of the clay was spent in feastings and 
rejoicings. 

"Some time after, Vespasian built a temple to 
Peace. It was a splendid structure, for he had 
great riches, and an abundance of every thing pre- 
cious with which to beautify it. When finished, the 
golden candlestick and the gold table and the book 
of the Jewish law, with other trophies, were placed 
in it. He also built a high triumphal arch for Titus, 
and on it was a fine representation of these spoils, 
some of which can be faintly traced even to this 
day. The accompanying fac-simile from this arch 
shows the sacred candlestick, trumpets, and table. 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



191 




u So the old dispensation, with all its types and 
shadows, passed away; prophecy was fulfilled; and 
the new Christian dispensation, pointing ever up- 
ward and onward to the new and heavenly J erusa- 
lem, was fully introduced. 

" Christ was the all and in all — the Lamb that 
was slain from the foundation of the world — the 
great High Priest who hath entered once for all into 
the Holy of Holies above, and now ever liveth to 
make intercession for all that come unto Grod through 
Him." 



THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. 



Jerusalem, my happy home, 

Name ever dear to me ! 
When shall my labors have an end, 

In joy, and peace, and thee ? 

When shall'these eyes thy heaven-built walls 

And pearly gates behold — 
Thy bulwarks, with salvation strong, 

And streets of shining gold ? 

Oh, when, thou city of my God, 

Shall I thy courts ascend, 
Where congregations ne'er break up, 

And Sabbaths have no end ? 

There happier bowers than Eden bloom, 

Nor sin nor sorrow know : 
Blessed seats ! through rude and stormy seas 

I onward press to you. 

Jerusalem, my happy home, 

My soul still pants for thee. 
Then shall my labors have an end, 

When I thy joys shall see. 




ERUSALEM. 



